3 players who became successful after leaving Chelsea

On transfer deadline day on February 3rd, Andre Schurrle made a big money move from Chelsea to Wolfsburg. The German made a bright start on his return to Germany by providing two assists and linked up well with another former Chelsea player – Kevin De Bruyne.

Schurrle is destined for big things, but he didn’t really get the chances to set the field alight at Chelsea and therefore, the German returned to the Bundesliga and it is very likely that he will reach bigger heights in the near future like many former players who left Chelsea at a young age have.

So here are 3 such players who found individual success after leaving the South Londoners:

#3 Nemanja Matic

Although Nemanja Matic is currently one of the first names on the Chelsea team sheet, there was a time when he was discarded by the same club. In January 2011, he was part of the deal that brought David Luiz to Chelsea from Benfica, with Matic moving the other way. At Benfica, Matic was moved from a playmaker’s position to a defensive midfielder by their manager Jorge Jesus.

Matic evolved into a brilliant defensive midfielder at Benfica and was named as the Primeira Liga Player of the year on July 4, 2013, after having won three monthly awards over the course of the season.

Three years after Chelsea sold Matic to Benfica, the Serbian returned to the London club as the finished article as he sealed a £21 million move to Chelsea. Today, Matic is one of the best defensive midfielders in the league and the world, as well as a vital cog in the Chelsea wheel. 

#2 Kevin De Bruyne

Chelsea have a history of bringing promising youngsters to the club at a very young age and then loaning them out to other clubs to build their playing experience. De Bruyne was one such youngster Chelsea brought into the fold in recent times.

The Belgian joined Chelsea in January 2012 from KRC Genk, but continued at the same club till the end of the season. The London club then sent De Bruyne on another loan, this time to German club Werder Bremen for an entire season.

De Bruyne enjoyed a successful loan spell at Bremen, where he scored 10 times and assisted 11 goals in 34 appearances. Following the loan spell, he was brought back to Chelsea to play for their first team, but he failed to hold down a starting berth and eventually left the club in January 2014 to join Wolfsburg.

The 23 year old had a subtle half season with Wolfsburg, but has been playing on a different level in the current season. He is currently one of the most prolific attackers in Europe with 11 goals and 14 assists for his club in just 28 appearances. 

#1 Daniel Sturridge

Few years back, Daniel Sturridge was one of the brightest young prospects in English football and that is precisely why Chelsea made a move for him. But things didn’t work out well for Sturridge as he often found game time hard to come by due to the presence of strikers like Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Fernando Torres. Even when the Chelsea forwards were out of form, Sturridge was constantly overlooked and when he was given a chance, he was deployed in the unfamiliar role of a winger.

After failing to make a breakthrough at Chelsea, Sturridge moved to Liverpool in January 2013.

Sturridge hit the ground running at Liverpool by scoring on his club debut, his Premier League debut and his home debut. In fact Sturridge was very prolific, indicated by his 36 goals in 50 games for Liverpool. This was a club record and a big one at that, considering he beat the likes of Ian Rush, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Fernando Torres and Luis Suarez to the feat.

The Englishman was the second highest score in the Premier League last season with 21 goals in just 29 appearances. This also explains how much Liverpool have missed him this season during his lengthy period on the sidelines with injuries.