The arrival of Kai Havertz at Chelsea takes the club’s spending in the transfer window north of the £200 million mark.It’s been a serious squad rebuild at Stamford Bridge. Out have gone Willian and Pedro, replaced in attack by Havertz, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech.And Ben Chilwell and Thiago Silva have been brought in to improve the defence.But it’s Havertz’s arrival that is perhaps the most exciting and Chelsea needed to break their record-transfer to bring him to the club.The Independent and the Daily Mail both quote the fee at £89 million. Sky Sports have it at £75.8m, but both fees are more than the £71.6m they paid to sign Kepa Arrizabalaga in 2018.
So there’s a pressure on Havertz to perform - and not just to justify his transfer fee.
The curse of Chelsea's record signings
The Germany international will be hoping to break the curse of being Chelsea’s record signing.
The four previous players to hold that title all failed to impress, with Kepa the latest to struggle.
Here’s how their last four record-breaking signings fared.
Kepa Arrizabalaga
Spanish goalkeeper Kepa was brought in to replace Thibaut Courtois, who joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2018.
He flashed at times in his debut season but disappointed in 2019/20, conceding 54 goals in the Premier League.
It was revealed in July that the 25-year-old has the worst save percentage (54.5%) in Premier League history and there are reports that the Blues are already looking to move on from the ‘keeper.
Alvaro Morata
Chelsea expected big things after spending £60m on Morata in July 2017.
But he lasted just two seasons at Stamford Bridge, managing 16 goals in 47 Premier League appearances.
The Blues managed to save face by offloading Morata to Atletico Madrid for £58.3m.
Fernando Torres
Torres was one of the hottest players in the world during his peak at Liverpool but he was a shadow of his former self at Chelsea.
The club paid £50m to sign him but he scored just 45 times in 172 times, averaging 0.26 goals per game.
Andriy Shevchenko
Chelsea thought they were onto a winner when Andriy Shevchenko scored 44 minutes into his debut in the Community Shield, but it was all downhill from there.
The £31m arrival scored just four league goals in his first season and five in the following campaign.
He left on a permanent deal in 2009.
