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Christian Pulisic has been in fine form of late

Where are they now? Chelsea’s 14 most expensive January signings

Ben Stewart •

Chelsea are notoriously big spenders in the January window and we’ve checked in on what their 14 most expensive winter signings are up to these days.

Both Roman Abramovich and Todd Boehly haven’t been shy about splashing the cash in January and it’s fair to say some of their signings have done better than others.

Using figures from Transfermarkt, we have found Chelsea’s 14 most expensive January signings and have checked out what they are up to these days.

14. Ross Barkley – £14.49million

The move to Chelsea never really worked out for Barkley as the English midfielder never established himself as a regular starter during his five-year stay with the club.

Following some underwhelming years at Stamford Bridge, it’s been fantastic to see him getting his career back on track with Luton Town.

“He’s an artist, really,” Rob Edwards told TNT Sports while discussing Barkley’s impact. “You’ve got to allow him a little bit to go and do his stuff. We love having him here, he’s come into the group and shown loads of humility, worked incredibly hard.”

13. Olivier Giroud – £14.66million

The Frenchman managed to produce a double-figure goal tally in three of the four seasons he spent at Stamford Bridge. He also got his hands on three trophies and scored some important goals along the way.

Giroud has aged like a fine wine and he’s still bagging goals on the regular in his late thirties. On the back of scoring 18 goals for AC Milan last season, he’s already got nine in this campaign.

12. Nicolas Anelka – £15.52million

Anelka, otherwise known as “Le Sulk”, enjoyed a good spell with Chelsea following his move from Bolton Wanderers in January 2008.

The Frenchman ended his career with Mumbai City in 2015 after taking up a player-coach role. In his post-playing career, Anelka took up the role of sporting director at French fourth-tier club Hyeres but left the job in 2021.

He has since taken up some punditry roles, although has expressed his desire to get back into management in the future.

“I won’t make a career out of it,” Anelka told Le Parisien when discussing his punditry work. “It’s an exercise for me. It will help me in my future coaching career. If I want to be able to speak to my players, I need to be able to manage public speaking.”

11. Emerson Palmieri – £17.25million

The full-back managed to get his hands on three European trophies while with Chelsea, albeit he only stared in one of the finals.

He’s since gone on to enjoy even more European success elsewhere as he won the UEFA Europa Conference League with West Ham last year. The 29-year-old still plays for the Hammers today and has started in the majority of their matches.

10. David Luiz – £21.56million

Still going strong at 36, Luiz is still actively playing today in his native country of Brazil for Flamengo. He’s also part of a select group to have won both the Champions League and Copa Libertadores.

Brazil international David Luiz celebrating winning the Champions League with Chelsea in 2012 (left) and the Copa Libertadores with Flamengo (2022)

READ: The 13 players to win the Champions League & Copa Libertadores: Neymar, David Luiz…

9. Nemanja Matic – £21.56million

Following stints with Chelsea, Manchester United and Roma, Matic is still going strong today. The 35-year-old made the move to Rennes in the summer, although he’s already eyeing up his next club.

According to Ouest-France, Matic handed in a transfer request earlier this week, although the club aren’t keen on losing him just a few months into his contract.

8. Malo Gusto – £25.87million

Given the injury problems Reece James has had of late, Gusto has been called upon more often than not. The 20-year-old has already provided three assists this season and looks to have nailed down a starting spot in the absence of James.

7. Juan Cuadrado – £26.73million

The Colombian wing-back didn’t pull up many trees while at Stamford Bridge, but he has crafted an excellent career for himself in Italy.

Cuadrado enjoyed a large bulk of his career with Juventus, where he managed to win 11 trophies in eight years. The 35-year-old then made the switch to Inter Milan in the summer who currently sit top of Serie A.

6. Noni Madueke – £30.18million

Like plenty of Chelsea’s signings from last January, it’s been a slow-burning start for Madueke in London. However, the former PSV man has proven his worth recently with two goals in his last two appearances.

“The manager is not so much on me about scoring goals, but being as connected with the team as possible and working hard.

“I try to make that my foundation to build on at the start of the game. I know that if I do that then my individual quality will shine through a lot of time. I’m chuffed with the goal for sure.”

5. Benoit Badiashile – £32.77million

The French defender has been in and out of the starting XI since he arrived from Monaco last January. Injuries haven’t helped as he’s missed a total of 18 games so far with various knocks.

Considering he’s under contract with Chelsea until the summer of 2030, he’s still got plenty of time to prove his worth.

4. Fernando Torres – £50.42million

Torres had some iconic moments throughout his Chelsea stint, but on the whole, he did underwhelm considering the money spent on him.

The Spaniard played out his final days with Sagan Tosu in Japan before announcing his retirement in 2019. He still works in football today and is currently the coach of Atletico Madrid’s Under-19s.

He’s also absolutely jacked these days.

3. Christian Pulisic – £55.16million

It’s a shame things never really worked out for Pulisic at Chelsea. The United States winger spent four years with the club but never really lived up to the hype.

However, since making the move to AC Milan in the summer, he’s looked like a player reborn. With seven goals and four assists to his name, he seems to be loving life in Italy right now.

2. Mykhaylo Mudryk – £60.33million

Chelsea fans rejoiced when they beat Arsenal to the punch with Mudryk, but the Ukrainian winger has been a slow burner at Stamford Bridge so far.

With add-ons included, Chelsea could end up paying as much as £89million for the former Shakhtar Donetsk man. While he’s not quite lived up to the hype so far, he has shown signs of improvement lately.

“‘He’s a fantastic guy and he’s such a nice person,” Pochettino told the club website. “He’s very authentic and genuine. One thing I can tell you, he’s very honest and very trustworthy and a very genuine and spontaneous guy. I trust in him as a person, of course.”

1. Enzo Fernandez – £104.37million

The most expensive Premier League January signing of all time. Todd Boehly was taken aback by Fernandez in the 2022 World Cup like the rest of us and he promptly dished out £104.37million for the Benfica midfielder.

Since his arrival last January, Fernandez has shown real elements of quality, although living up to his lofty price tag was always going to be difficult. Still, he is under contract until 2031, so still has plenty of time to prove his worth.

READ NEXT: 7 ridiculous stats behind Cole Palmer’s brilliant 2023-24 campaign with Chelsea

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name the 20 most expensive January transfers in PL history?

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