Premier League Transfers: 15 Talented Imports Who Completely Flopped

9. Andriy Shevchenko

Before Torres, there was Shevchenko, the Ukrainian who was legitimately heralded as one of the deadliest strikers in Europe. His name struck fear into the hearts of opponents and helped drive forward the AC Milan side of the early 2000s, during which period the Ukrainian won Serie A and the Champions League, before departing Italy to join Chelsea in 2006. He had been courted by Chelsea€™s billionaire owner, Roman Abramovich for over a year and for the club record sum, Roman eventually got his man. His arrival at the club also help fuel the rumours of a falling out between the owner and then manager Jose Mourinho - who allegedly did not share Abramovich€™s affection for the player. Despite these issues, it€™s easy to imagine that Shevchenko firing in the goals like had in Italy would likely have curtailed the problems between the manager and owner, but sadly for all involved, this did not happen. The Andriy Shevchenko that arrived at Stamford Bridge was not the same man that was consistently brilliant for AC Milan. It was never a case of him not trying- which spared him the wrath of the fans- but rather time having taken its toll. It was too late and given the slower pace of Italian football, an aging Shevchenko was always going to struggle. The relationship of Abramovich and Mourinho seemed irrevocably damaged and the manager departed- Shevchenko was no more successful under future managers and eventually returned home to Ukraine.