Xhaka next? Chelsea’s last 10 signings of over-30s ranked from worst to best | OneFootball

Granit Xhaka to Chelsea feels very un-Chelsea, doesn’t it?

The BlueCo era has been characterised by dozens of investments in young talents – and some who didn’t turn out to be talents after all.

But Chelsea are pushing for the signing of 33-year-old Xhaka at the request of his former Bayer Leverkusen boss, Xabi Alonso. Has he not read his new employers’ manual?

You’d have to go back to September 2022 for Chelsea’s last signing of an over-30 player. Looking back at the last 10 takes us all the way back to 2014, a couple of years before Xhaka himself had even joined Arsenal.

We’ve ranked the 10 most recent players above the age of 30 to be signed by Chelsea.

10) Marco Amelia (33)

There are three reserve goalkeepers who never made an appearance for Chelsea in this list and to be honest we’re not really sure how to separate them other than vibes.

Amelia spent the 2015-16 season with Chelsea, who finished 10th.

9) Eduardo (33)

Ever so slightly vibier than Amelia, Eduardo joined Chelsea as a third-choice keeper in 2016, becoming a Premier League champion at the first time of asking – without actually playing, of course.

The ex-Portugal international was released in 2019 after spending the last year of his contract on loan at Vitesse Arnhem.

8) Rob Green (38)

Who can forget him lifting the Europa League trophy in full Chelsea keeper kit in 2019?

After not actually playing, of course.

7) Kalidou Koulibaly (31)

Right, onto the ones who actually played for Chelsea. They might be regretting that Koulibaly did, though.

It felt like Koulibaly had been linked with a Premier League move for an eternity after establishing himself as one of Serie A’s best defenders.

Chelsea finally made it happen in 2022, their first transfer window post-takeover, spending £33m on the Senegal international.

Koulibaly only lasted a year at Chelsea, looking a shadow of the player he had been at Napoli.

6) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (33)

The most recent over-30 player to join Chelsea, Aubameyang’s spell at the club only lasted one season and contained one Premier League goal.

He ranks above fellow 2022-23 flop Koulibaly solely by virtue of not costing as much.

There was some degree of logic behind buying him, to be fair. Aubameyang was proven in the Premier League from his days with Arsenal and had since scored a healthy 13 goals in 24 games for Barcelona.

But he wasn’t really the answer for Chelsea – all the more frustrating when he scored 30 goals for Marseille the season after.

5) Gonzalo Higuain (31)

Chelsea reunited Higuain with Maurizio Sarri, the coach who’d inspired his best ever scoring season at Napoli, by taking him on loan for the second half of the 2018-19 season.

The Higuain that showed up at Stamford Bridge wasn’t one that could score pretty much a goal a game anymore, but his closing tally of five goals from 14 Premier League games wasn’t too shabby in comparison to the efforts of some other strikers to pass through the club in recent years.

4) Willy Caballero (35)

Showing Amelia, Eduardo and Green that you can be a veteran Chelsea keeper and make it onto the pitch, Caballero played 38 times over a four-year spell after his 2017 move from Manchester City.

It should have been 39 had Kepa Arrizabalaga not refused to come off in the 2019 League Cup final. What a spoilsport.

Caballero kept 14 clean sheets when called upon by Chelsea, only conceding 42 goals in all.

3) Didier Drogba (36)

Chelsea strikers don’t come much better than Drogba, but we’re only basing his place in this ranking on his second spell at the club.

Leaving as a legend at the age of 34 in 2012, Drogba ended up back at the Bridge two years later to reunite with Jose Mourinho – a manager who always had his favourites.

It led to a third Premier League title together for the pair, with Drogba scoring four goals towards the title from 28 games.

That was fewer than John Terry but Drogba wasn’t exactly there to be the main striker anymore; Chelsea had Diego Costa for that.

In all competitions, Drogba’s second Chelsea spell included 40 appearances and seven goals.

“I’m really happy because he was part of the other team, but he belongs also to this new Chelsea,” Mourinho said at the season’s end.

“For these players to know him, train with him, live with him, play with him, share with him is fantastic.

“He was very, very good for these young people: Eden Hazard, Willian, Oscar. They learnt from a good example. His was a fantastic contribution this season.”

2) Olivier Giroud (31)

Giroud became Chelsea’s first signing directly from Arsenal since Ashley Cole in 2006 when he made the move in January 2018.

The French striker turned out to be a reliable servant for Chelsea, scoring 39 goals from 119 games and winning both the Europa League and Champions League with the club.

Indeed, he’s Chelsea’s third highest scorer in European competition, behind only Drogba and Frank Lampard. When they won the Champions League in 2020-21, he was their top scorer in the competition with six goals – four of which came in one game.

Chelsea often had a younger striker to rotate with Giroud – even Higuain included, just about – but he was always there as an option with a decent case for gametime.

1) Thiago Silva (35)

The best of the bunch among Chelsea’s recent over-30 signings is undoubtedly Silva, who defied the odds after joining from PSG in 2020.

He arrived as a player with a big reputation, but one far older than Chelsea – or most top-end Premier League clubs – would normally go for.

And yet he proved to be in top condition, being able to produce four busy seasons in blue. He won the Champions League by the end of the first.

Making more than 150 appearances, the centre-back was outstanding over the course of his Chelsea career.

He was chosen as Chelsea’s player of the season for 2022-23, his third campaign with the club, in another sign of his longevity.

And yes, he’s still playing now at 41, having just sealed a return to Fluminense.