A bargain purchase is not necessarily associated with Chelsea, especially in the Roman Abramovich era, as the club have been one of the clear top spenders in the division. The club has never thought twice about paying over the odds for a marquee signing. Andriy Shevchenko and Fernando Torres cost a combined £80 million, but they had offered less than 100 goals in all competitions to Chelsea. The club, though, has had a much bigger success with defensive signings. Here are the top three bargain buys for Chelsea in the last decade and they all have a similarity of being defensive purchases.
3. Gary Cahill (From Bolton Wanderers for £7 million in 2012)
Signed from Bolton for just £7 million, Cahill has not only established himself as a great partner for John Terry at Chelsea but he has also become one of the key members of the England national team in the last four years. Cahill has been a first-team regular throughout his time at West London. It is not surprising that he has already racked up 203 appearances for the blues while scoring 18 goals. Cahill is rarely injured and has always been a dependable player for Chelsea. He has won the Champions League and league title since his move.
2. Branislav Ivanovic (From Lokomotiv Moscow for £9 million in 2008)
Ivanovic was an unknown figure from Eastern European football, but Chelsea paid £9 million for his signature in 2008 from Lokomotiv Moscow. Ivanovic’s hairline may have receded in the last decade, but his quality has remained impeccable. Capable of playing as a central defender or right-back, Ivanovic has also been quite versatile with his goals. Ivanovic has already lifted eight major honours with the blues including the Europa League, Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup medals; certainly not bad for a player who cost less than £10 million.
1. Ashley Cole (From Arsenal for £5 million and William Gallas in 2006)
The former England full-back was a surprise signing for Chelsea in 2006 as he came from arch rivals Arsenal. The blues had to pay only £5 million with William Gallas going the other way. Even though Gallas was a great defender himself, it is highly unlikely that he would have been able to match the achievements of Cole at Stamford Bridge. Cole was so good that he was able to keep Wayne Bridge, who himself was a great defender, out of first-team action throughout his time at the club. When he departed Chelsea in 2014, Cole had amassed four FA Cups, one Premier League, and one Champions League medal.
He had featured in 338 games for Chelsea in all competitions.