Chelsea have perhaps been guilty of some of the most hasty sales during the past few years. Some of the players sold by the Blues have gone on to establish themselves as World class talents elsewhere. The following are arguably three of the most reckless sales made by Chelsea during recent years.
3. Romelu Lukaku
Lukaku joined the Blues in 2011 from Anderlecht. He stayed with the club for three years and spent time on loan at West Brom and Everton and his deal with the Toffees was made permanent in 2014. During his time with the Toffees, Lukaku went on to establish himself as one of the best strikers in the Premier League. During the 2016-17 campaign, he scored 25 goals in the top-flight from 37 games and this prompted a move to Manchester United the following season.
The Blues should have given him more opportunities. Since the departure of Didier Drogba, the West London giants have struggled to find a consistent striker. Perhaps Lukaku could have been the answer to that.
2. Kevin De Bruyne
De Bruyne arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2012 from Genk. De Bruyne never really got a chance to shine at Stamford Bridge as he played just three Premier League games for the club. During his time with Chelsea, he had a successful loan spell in Germany with Werder Bremen as he went on to score 10 goals from 33 Bundesliga games for them.
The Blues subsequently ended up selling the Belgian to Wolfsburg in January 2014 for £18 million. This has arguably proven to be one of the most reckless transfers during the past decade.
After being purchased by Manchester City in 2015, De Bruyne has gone on to establish himself as one of the best players in the Premier League. He has since won one Premier League title as well as three League Cups. The 27-year-old is now at the peak of his career and has so far scored 22 goals for the Cityzens from 112 Premier League games so far.
1. Mo Salah
Salah was purchased as a highly-rated young talent from Basel in 2014. Just like De Bruyne, he too never really got much of a chance to shine at Stamford Bridge. He did however show glimpses of potential during his time with the Blues as he went on to score two goals from 13 Premier League games, mainly off the bench.
Salah was loaned out to Fiorentina and Roma and his contract with the latter was subsequently made permanent in 2016. Salah showed that he is a quality player during the 2016-17 season with Roma as he went on to score 15 goals from 31 Serie A appearances. The Serie A is after all one of the hardest Leagues to score in and even Cristiano Ronaldo agrees with that!
Salah’s heroics for Roma prompted Liverpool to lure him in 2017. He has turned out to be one of the best pieces of business Liverpool have made in their history.
The Egyptian was the highest scorer in the Premier League last term as he went on to score 32 goals in the top-flight from 36 appearances and helped Jurgen Klopp’s side to secure a berth in this seasons Champions League.
