Five players who we think that Chelsea should never have sold.
Despite having started the season well and having largely been praised for their business in the transfer market, Chelsea do not get everything right every single time – as we believe these five players prove:
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Arjen Robben
Dutch winger Arjen Robben’s spell at Chelsea is quite easy to forget in amongst the huge success that he has achieved since leaving Stamford Bridge – Robben’s trademark bald head was even covered with follicles back in his time at Stamford Bridge. Signed from the Eredivisie as a precocious and exciting young talent, Robben’s time with the club was largely dominated by injury issues, despite flashes of genius, so it wasn’t seen as a huge loss when he left to join Real Madrid, but Robben turned out to develop into one of Europe’s finest creative players.
Nemanja Matic
One of a number of talented young players with clear potential never to really be given a chance at Chelsea, midfielder Nemanja Matic spend a couple of years at Stamford Bridge after signing from Kosice, but most of that was on loan in the Eredivisie with Vitesse Arnhem. When he was sold to Benfica on a permanent deal not many eyebrows were raised, but Matic flourished with regular football and the Blues had to pay upwards of £20 million to bring the Serbian international back in January, since when he has proven himself to be one of the finest destructive midfielders around.
Romelu Lukaku
The jury is still out on the sale of Romelu Lukaku and it may prove to be a fine piece of business if the Belgian isn’t able to continue improving but, whilst the Blues undoubtedly received a superb fee for the player, Lukaku has the raw attributes to become the best centre forward on the planet. The signing of Diego Costa has certainly helped to soften the blow for any Chelsea fans concerned by the sale of Lukaku, but the Spaniard has notoriously dodgy hamstrings and, if he does spend a period on the sidelines, Chelsea may wish that they had Lukaku still at their disposal.
Frank Lampard
Another slightly controversial addition to this list from Chelsea’s summer transfer business, Frank Lampard has shown in recent weeks for Manchester City that he can still both score goals and impact upon games in the Premier League. He could also prove to be a pivotal weapon for City in the title race – although Chelsea weren’t to know that Lampard would pitch up at the Etihad Stadium when they allowed him to leave, but our feeling is that Mourinho may well regret not giving him one more year at Stamford Bridge.
Tore Andre Flo
Chelsea really should’ve been able to enjoy the best years of Norwegian international striker Tore Andre Flo’s career – but the striker was sold for a big fee to Rangers due to a dispute about playing time that arose from then manager Gianlu Vialli’s notorious rotation system. If he had been given the chances that he craved at Stamford Bridge, Flo could’ve been far better remembered in West London than he is currently.