Chelsea may have thought that when they had agreed to pay a club-record £97.5million fee to sign Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan, they were finally getting the striker they had so desperately craved. The Blues had to raise funds by selling off nine players, with some wheeling and dealing done by Marina Granovskaia, only for the deal to turn pear-shaped when Lukaku was frozen out just 10 months later. Now the striker is on loan at AS Roma and his Chelsea career is as good as over, but what happened to the nine players who were sacrificed to make way? Express Sport gives you the lowdown on where they are now.
Given that Abraham had been frozen out under Thomas Tuchel for the second half of the 2020-21 campaign, it was seen as a coup that they were able to extract a huge fee from AS Roma for the England international. There was a tinge of regret, though, when the towering striker struck 24 goals in all competitions in his debut season with the Giallorossi.
Since then, the 25-year-old’s form has been more patchy and an ACL injury has kept him sidelined for several months. But given the money Chelsea have spent since, his departure may have been misguided – especially after Lukaku’s nightmare spell led him to joining Abraham as his team-mate at the Stadio Olimpico.
Fikayo Tomori – £26m
Another Cobham graduate who was left on the periphery of the first-team under Frank Lampard and Tuchel, Tomori certainly made the right call in switching from the Premier League for Serie A after a successful loan spell. The Rossoneri paid only £26m, a bargain in the current market for a centre-back of his quality, and the 25-year-old is thriving.
There have been calls for Tomori to be given a bigger role in the England squad, with the Canadian-born man a regular for his club in the Italian top flight and playing in the Champions League. Chelsea fans wanted him back after last season’s turbulent campaign, but he is happy enough with life in Milan.
Marc Guehi – £20m
It just keeps getting worse as far as Chelsea are concerned. Selling Guehi for £20m to Crystal Palace in 2021 when he hadn’t even made a single Premier League appearance may have looked like good business at the time, but there was always a likelihood he would shine elsewhere.
In the space of two years, the young centre-back has become a key player for the Eagles and has won three caps under Gareth Southgate. The fact Chelsea were among the clubs linked with a £60m swoop this summer – along with Arsenal and Manchester United – says everything about how they let him go too cheaply.
Tino Livramento – £5m (rising to £20m)
Southampton made a quick buck at Chelsea’s expense after handing Livramento a starting berth when he was just 18 in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side by agreeing a £5m deal. He had caught the eye with his displays before a serious knee injury disrupted his progress at the end of the 2021-22 season.
However, Chelsea were at least smart enough to include a 40 per cent sell-on clause that guaranteed them a huge chunk of any future fee if Livramento left St Mary’s. And when Newcastle paid £32m for the full-back in July, they earned around £15m of the total fee to put towards Todd Boehly’s sales.
Kenedy – £8.5m
It’s easy to forget that Kenedy was actually a regular under Jose Mourinho at one stage in his career after arriving from Fluminense for £7m eight years ago. The winger has shown promise early in his career but never quite kicked on at Stamford Bridge.
An array of loan spells followed as he was carted off to clubs such as Watford, Newcastle and Granada, before finally leaving Chelsea permanently in July 2022. Now 27, he is plying his trade in the Spanish second tier with Real Valladolid, co-owned by Brazil icon Ronaldo.
Victor Moses – £4.5m
Few could forget how Moses rose from the ashes of the Chelsea loan system after being handed a second chance by Antonio Conte in 2016, before being transformed into one of the best wing-backs in the country.
But when the Italian left in 2018, Moses fell out of favour and loans to Fenerbahce and Inter Milan failed to earn him a permanent exit. At last, he finally settled at a club with Spartak Moscow after sealing a £4.5m switch in 2021 and the Nigeria winger still resides in the Russian capital, scoring once in eight games this season.
Lewis Bate – £1.5m
After choosing to leave Chelsea behind for a new challenge with Leeds United, it hasn’t quite worked out for Bate at Elland Road. The youngster, now 20, has been used predominantly in their Under-23 development squad and has struggled to break through.
The midfielder has also watched younger talents such as Archie Gray get first-team action while he has been limited to a solitary minute in the Carabao Cup against Shrewsbury Town. And it’s safe to say Chelsea got the better end of the deal so far.
Dynel Simeu – £1.5m
Much like Bate, Simeu decided to take the leap in search of more first-team opportunities after finding his path blocked at Chelsea but hasn’t reaped the rewards.
Despite signing for the South Coast outfit over two years ago, Simeu is yet to make his competitive debut for the Saints, as the 21-year-old has spent time on loan with Carlisle and Tranmere in League Two and Morecambe in League One.
Olivier Giroud – £1m
A popular figure with the Chelsea fans, Giroud knew his time at Stamford Bridge was over when Chelsea began their pursuit of Lukaku. But comparing their records over the last two years in Italy – Giroud has 17 goals to Lukaku’s 15 in Serie A – they may as well have just kept the veteran Frenchman as he continues to defy his age of 37.
Nowadays, when he isn’t leading the line for Milan, Giroud is pulling off goalkeeping heroics after being forced to go between the sticks when Mike Maignan was sent off in their 1-0 win over Genoa. Talk about versatile.
