Some of the most iconic players in Premier League history have worn the number nine shirt. Think back to Alan Shearer, Ian Rush and Niall Quinn but unfortunately for Chelsea they have not enjoyed such potent number nines in recent years. You have to go back to Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to find their last lethal number nine, which is almost a span of two decades of disappointment.
Now, Gonzalo Higuain is edging closer to a move to Stamford Bridge and looks likely to pick up the infamous and now vacant number nine shirt. Alvaro Morata was the latest name on a horrific list of recent players who have flopped wearing Chelsea’s number nine shirt. We take a look back at the last six owners of the number nine jersey and work out what went wrong.
Alvaro Morata
The expectation was huge for the Spaniard when he joined at the beginning of the 17/18 campaign for £60m from Real Madrid. It was believed that Chelsea had picked up one of the hottest strikers in European football for a hefty price after he had hit twenty goals the previous season for Real and Chelsea had found the perfect man to lead the line and take them to the next level.
However, despite a stunning start to life in London, which saw him score eight goals in his opening eight games, Morata’s form went out of the window after Christmas. Since then, he has become a figure of fun amongst Chelsea fans and lost his place in the team over the summer. He took up the number 29 at the start of the season but that did not help reignite his form and now looks set to be shipped back to Spain on loan.
Falcao
Radamel Falcao arrived on loan for half a season at Stamford Bridge after a useless spell at Old Trafford but he was pretty terrible for Chelsea as well. Just one goal in twelve appearances brought a sharp end to his time at the club and he jumped at the chance to rejoin Monaco where he found his goalscoring form once more. He was only number nine for a short time, but it was forgettable.
Fernando Torres
At £50m, Fernando Torres proved to be one of the poorest signings Chelsea ever made. He was one of the best strikers the Premier League has seen at his peak for Liverpool but a couple of injuries and poor performances meant that Liverpool accepted the huge offer from Chelsea in January 2011.
He played over 170 times for Chelsea in his stint at the club, but only bagged 45 goals which is not woeful, but did not live up to the standard expected of him when he signed. He helped the club win the Champions League in 2012 but failed to deliver in the Premier League, only scoring eight goals in his highest scoring season.
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Franco Di Santo
Remember when Franco Di Santo was Chelsea real-life number nine? No us neither. Yet for two strange seasons after 2008, that is what happened. He made sixteen appearances over all competitions for Chelsea but failed to score a goal and was quickly deemed not good enough for the Blues.
He then went on loan to Blackburn before joining Wigan on a permanent deal. What a forgettable time for Chelsea fans, a period they will not want to forget.
Steve Sidwell
You think this list cannot get any worse but somehow it does. Steve ‘Ginger Pele’ Sidwell really was Chelsea Football Club’s number nine for a whole season. The only saving grace here is that, unlike the other on the list, Chelsea actually made profit on him. He joined on a free and left for £5m just one season later to Aston Villa.
He made 25 appearances for Chelsea but they came mainly in the cup games as he struggled to make a meaningful impact under Jose Mourinho. Poor Steve.
Khalid Boulahrouz
We end this list with surely the worst of the lot. Chelsea went from Hernan Crespo to Khalid Boulahrouz which is surely one of the biggest downgrades ever. The centre-back was brought in for £8.5m from Hamburg after the World Cup in 2006, but he was again a largely forgettable signing, lasting just one season and doing absolutely nothing of note apart from wearing the number nine.
Woeful. Surely Higuain will have a better success rate than Khalid bloomin Boulahrouz.
