He may have turned out to be one of the biggest flops in Premier League history, but when Chelsea finalised the deal for the £30 million AC Milan forward, it looked like one of the worlds most lethal finishers would be terrorising Premier League defences for the next few seasons. Roman Abramovich had made no secret of his admiration for the Ukrainian forward who had plundered 175 goals in seven seasons for the Milanese giants, having tested the Italian clubs resolve with a world record bid of £66 million pounds the previous summer. It may have been viewed as a cut-price deal when Chelsea snapped him up for less than half of that in May 2006, but the £30 million fee was still enough to push the Ukrainian to the top of the most expensive British transfers ever list.
Today is a day when the dream became reality. Andriy has always been my first choice for Chelsea since I arrived. Before it was not possible, now it is for real. He has great qualities, ambition, discipline, tactical awareness and of course he is a great goalscorer. I did not need to meet him to convince him about Chelsea, in the same we we did not need to talk a lot about why I wanted him. Everybody knows him as a player, tactically he can play in the Chelsea system no doubt. - Jose Mourinho, May 2006.
With a profligate strike rate of nine league goals in 48 appearances, it was a dream that quickly transcended into a nightmare for the former Milanese champion.
Recent Journalism & New Media graduate. Insatiable thirst for all things football, and hopes to break into the field of sports journalism in the near future.
Have made a significantly insignificant playing career out of receiving several slaps around the head for not passing the ball.
