Chelsea have been a shambles since Todd Boehly’s takeover and the success of these six players since leaving rubs some salt in the wounds…
Ross Barkley
It seems ludicrous but Barkley was a Chelsea player when Boehly bought the Blues from Roman Abramovich. Technically, he was not sold but released by mutual consent. Either way, it was a miserable chapter of Barkley’s career. To say it is incredibly surprising to see him back in the Premier League and playing the best football of his career would be a massive understatement.
Barkley’s role for Luton Town is far removed from his days as a youngster at Everton, when he was more attacking and had everything it took to be a box-to-box midfielder. Now he is more of an orchestrator but has the freedom to go forward thanks to his partner in midfield, Albert Sambi Lokonga, and the fact Rob Edwards sets up with three centre-backs.
Barkley joined Chelsea with high hopes but never got going. A free transfer to Nice did not go to plan and he appeared to be miles off a return to the Premier League. He has Luton to thank for allowing him to show he has still got what it takes, and the Hatters can thank Barkley if they manage to avoid relegation because if they do, it will be in large parts thanks to the Blues flop.
Christian Pulisic
Chelsea boosted their American reach with the signing of Pulisic in 2019 and that is one of few positives from his time at the club. He joined from Borussia Dortmund for around £55million at the age of 20 and there were high expectations, as there should be for any young player coming from that breeding ground.
Pulisic had his moments in England and 22 goal contributions in 34 appearances in his debut campaign was a very promising return. It is safe to say the American peaked in 2019/20 but some golden moments made us believe he could be a world-class winger. Pulisic was inspirational in Chelsea’s Champions League semi-final win over Real Madrid in the year they won the whole thing, so there is that in his defence when we refer to him as a flop.
You never felt like Thomas Tuchel was fully convinced by Pulisic, who would be in and out of the starting XI throughout an entire season with the German in charge. His last season in west London was miserable, scoring once in 30 appearances in what was an abysmal 22/23 for the club as a whole. The transition from Roman Abramovich to Todd Boehly was bumpy to say the least, and with the latter desperate to raise funds after splashing a silly amount of cash, Pulisic was always going to leave.
The American winger was sold to AC Milan for around £15m, which makes for a £40m loss but a handy number to help balance the books. He is shining in Italy in a frontline featuring another former Chelsea man in Olivier Giroud. Pulisic’s performances for the Rossoneri this term have been better than Rafael Leao’s and he now has eight goals and seven assists for his new club.
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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
The only player on this list who was actually signed by Boehly, Aubameyang made the controversial switch to Chelsea having played for and captained London rivals Arsenal. This was not a transfer that angered the Gunners fanbase to the extent of Robin van Persie’s move to Manchester United but the social media clips and that “nothing personal” BT Sport game promo was a bad look.
Having managed him at Dortmund, Tuchel was eager to bring in Aubameyang and he got his man late on in the 2022 transfer window, landing him for a small fee from Barcelona, who he had joined from Arsenal on a free transfer seven months before.
Aubameyang got to play one game under Tuchel before he was surprisingly sacked and replaced by Graham Potter – a decision amongst the worst in Boehly’s reign. Potter did not give the Gabonese hitman much of a chance and left him out of his Champions League squad for the knockout stages.
This transfer was a massive waste of time for Aubameyang and waste of money for Chelsea. Like Pulisic, his exit at the end of 22/23 was inevitable and the Blues got his wages off their books but could not secure a transfer fee when he joined Marseille last July.
Playing back in France after making a name for himself at Saint-Etienne for two-and-a-half years, the 34-year-old has been one of the best strikers in Europe this term, so far bagging 18 goals, including seven in seven Europa League appearances, making him the competition’s all-time leading goalscorer. The grass has most certainly been greener for Auba.
Billy Gilmour
It was reported that Boehly tried to convince Gilmour to stay before his August 2022 switch to Brighton, where he would link up with the seemingly perfect manager for him in Graham Potter. The American billionaire hinted that change was coming with Gilmour struggling for minutes under Tuchel. The Scot was not interested and he left the Blues for the south coast anyway.
Potter was quickly off to Chelsea and Gilmour was left ruing his decision to move on. It was a difficult debut season for him at the Amex; he did not play as often as he would have liked, meaning he was a bit off the pace when given the chance to impress. Moises Caicedo’s boots were impossible to fill but after the Ecuadorian left for Chelsea, Gilmour has shone under Roberto De Zerbi and is currently playing at a higher level than his former team-mate.
Gilmour is only 22 and left for nowhere near what he was worth and what he will be worth. But at least Boehly tried to keep him.
Jorginho
Definitely not a Chelsea flop, but someone who is thriving having been sold during the Boehly era, Jorginho has become a very clever signing by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, though it was heavily criticised by the Gunners fan when they found out the Italian was an alternative after failing to sign Caicedo.
While we focused more on Aubameyang, Pulisic and Barkley’s times at Chelsea, this is more about how Jorginho is doing at the Emirates, having won the Champions League for the Blues and been one of their better signings in recent years.
With Thomas Partey always injured, Jorginho has played more than expected this season, but whenever called upon, he tends to be one of the best players on the park. Most recently, he ran the show for Arsenal as they thumped Newcastle United in the Premier League. Jorginho is a big-game player and looks like an important figure in the dressing room.
Having seen him maraud the touchline during his ‘warm-ups’, passing on advice and instructions to his team-mates, we can see Jorginho becoming a top coach one day and we might see a similar path to Arteta, joining the Spaniard as an assistant following his retirement before going on to become a Premier League manager.
Ethan Ampadu
It never felt like Ampadu would become a big player for Chelsea, so we can hardly criticise Boehly for selling him to Leeds United last summer. He only made 12 appearances for the Londoners – one of which came in the Premier League – and was loaned out four times between his 2017 arrival from Exeter City and his 2023 exit to Leeds.
Still only 23 years of age, Ampadu seems to have finally found a permanent home at Elland Road and has been excellent in the club’s bid for promotion back to the top flight, playing as a defensive midfielder and at centre-back under Daniel Farke.
Leeds are currently on a nine-match winning run in the Championship and Ampadu has captained the Whites in their last eight matches, most recently against title rivals Leicester City, who they beat 3-1 last week.
The 49-cap Wales international will be one of Leeds’ regular starters if they are promoted to the Premier League, which looks very possible.
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