Here, we rate five of Mauricio Pochettino’s most expensive Chelsea signings up until the opening of the Janaury 2024 transfer window, with the Argentinian shelling out over £300m on these stars.
Pochettino has helped splurge over £400m of that after he returned to the Premier League in the summer. And you’d think with that cash spent, Chelsea would easily be challenging for the title this season.
No, far from it. The Blues have been languishing in mid-table for some time now, easily suggesting the fees coughed up for their most lucrative player assets under Pochettino haven’t been vindicated.
Below, we take a look at those players in more detail and provide a ranking each for Maurico Pochettino’s top five most expensive signings as Chelsea gaffer so far.
Mauricio Pochettino’s most expensive Chelsea signings
Axel Disasi – £38.5m
Signed from Monaco in the summer, Axel Disasi is a powerful centre-back who has been trusted by Pochettino so far this season.
Disasi kicked off his Chelsea Premier League career in style with a debut goal against Liverpool and since then, the 25-year-old has started almost every league encounter.
Disasi has been linked with a move away from Chelsea in January, namely Bayern Munich, although those rumours were recently quashed by Fabrizio Romano. He has a lot of learning to do at Stamford Bridge but it hasn’t been the worst start for Disasi.
Ranking: 7/10
Cole Palmer – £42.5m
Pochettino squeezed Cole Palmer through the Cobham doors and into his Chelsea squad at the last kick in September.
The forward wasn’t getting the required game time at Manchester City – despite scoring in the UEFA Super Cup Final against Sevilla – so Chelsea swooped in and have given him a central role this season.
The charismatic 21-year-old is a bright young English talent and is living up to his £42.5m price tag with a goal contribution roughly every 1.77 games for the Blues so far.
Without Palmer, Chelsea could be in trouble more than they are at the moment so Pochettino and his colleagues did a fantastic job in securing his transfer from City.
Ranking: 9/10
Christopher Nkunku – £52m
Ask any Chelsea fan and they’d agree Christopher Nkunku was the most exciting addition made by Pochettino in the summer.
Unfortunately though, the talented Frenchman – bought from RB Leipzig for £52m – had to wait months before making his competitive debut for Chelsea due to a serious knee injury sustained in pre-season.
He finally got to run out in front of the Stamford Bridge faithful in December against Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup. And Nkunku netted a crucial spot-kick as the Blues progressed to the next round via a penalty shootout.
It would be wholly unfair to judge Nkunku after one game so we’ve went right down the middle for this one. The jury is still well and truly out but his 70 goals in 172 games for Leipzig indicate real promise for the future.
Ranking: Jury still out
Romeo Lavia – £58m
Again, we arrive at a player signed by Pochettino in the summer who Chelsea fans are yet to see in a Blue jersey.
Labelled by some as a panic buy, Romeo Lavia signed from Southampton in the middle of August. The defensive midfielder featured in the Premier League 29 times in 2022/23 and for some, did not warrant a £58m purchase.
A muscle tear and then separate ankle ligament damage has prevented Lavia from proving his doubters wrong though so like Nkunku, a ranking for the Belgian wouldn’t make much sense.
Ranking: Jury still out
Moises Caicedo – £115m
Now for Pochettino’s jaw-dropping purchase of Moises Caicedo from Brighton, who is Chelsea’s second-most expensive transfer in history after Enzo Fernandez.
Questions continue to be raised over Caicedo’s gargantuan price tag, with Danny Murphy recently claiming on FIVE that Chelsea had their “pants pulled down” by the Seagulls.
John Obi Mikel does think the Ecuadorian will prove his worth in the end but for the moment, Caicedo isn’t quite showing the form he produced regularly at Brighton last season.
For the money spent against the lack of output from Caicedo so far, a high mark can’t be dished out for this signing yet.
Ranking: 6/10
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