After being bought by Roman Abramovich, Chelsea became a fairly dominant club in the transfer market. The Blues have recruited so many quality players.
Chelsea several times broke the club's transfer record when bringing in targeted players. The Blues have also not hesitated to buy players from rival teams in recent years.
Fernando Torres, Ashley Cole, Olivier Giroud, Yossi Benayoun, and most recently Raheem Sterling are examples of players brought in by Chelsea from rivals who are usually at the top of the Premier League, or what is often called The Big Six.
In addition to doing business with big clubs in England, Chelsea also often recruit players from other teams in the Premier League. Some of them are arguably successful purchases.
Here are five of Chelsea 's successful purchases from teams outside the Premier League's top six:
Demba Ba
Demba Ba came to Chelsea in January 2013. The Sengal striker was signed from Newcastle United for a transfer fee of 8.5 million euros at the time.
Demba Ba spent a season and a half with Chelsea. He mostly played as a second striker behind Fernando Torres.
Prior to moving to Besiktas in the summer of 2014, Ba ended his career in West London scoring 14 goals and providing five assists . The score was recorded from 51 matches in all competitions for the Blues.
Ben Chilwell
Chelsea managed to secure Ben Chilwell from Leicester City in the summer of 2020. The England left-back came to Stamford Bridge after being redeemed for a fee of around 50.2 million euros.
At the time of his arrival, Chilwell was considered the most promising left-back in the Premier League. He immediately became the first choice at Chelsea, replacing Emerson Palmieri and Marcos Alonso.
Chilwell has so far helped Chelsea win the Champions League, European Super Cup and Club World Cup. The 25-year-old made 56 appearances scoring seven goals and nine assists for the Blues.
Victor Moses
Victor Moses joined Chelsea in 2012. However, the Nigerian player is more often loaned out to other teams such as Wigan, Liverpool and Stoke City.
Only when Antonio Conte came to Stamford Bridge did Moses become a mainstay of the Blues. He helped the Blues to the Premier League title and FA Cup under the Italian manager.
Moses made 128 appearances in all competitions for the West London club scoring 18 goals and providing 13 assists . He left Chelsea permanently in 2021 by joining Spartak Moscow.
N'Golo Kante
N'Golo Kante was a key player for Leicester City when they won the Premier League in the 2015/2016 season. Chelsea then brought Kante to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2016.
Kante immediately became an important player in Chelsea's midfield. The French midfielder has helped the Blues win many titles including the Premier League, Europa League and Champions League.
So far, Kante has played 262 games for Chelsea. The 31-year-old player scored 13 goals and 15 assists from these appearances.
Gary Cahill
Cahill joined Chelsea from Bolton Wanderers on 16 January 2012. He became the first choice in the Blues back line after coming to Stamford Bridge.
Cahill was then elected captain of Chelsea following the departure of John Terry. He managed to help the Blues win a number of titles including the Premier League, Europa League and Champions League.
During his 7.5 years with Chelsea, Cahill recorded 289 games in all competitions. The England defender made 25 goals and seven assists from his appearances.
