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The 9 players Chelsea signed along with Eden Hazard & how they fared

Planet Football •

On May 26, 2012, Eden Hazard took to Twitter to bring an end to months of speculation, announcing that he was to join the champions of Europe, Chelsea.

Hazard had forged a reputation as one of the best young players in Europe at Lille, and lived up to the hype at Chelsea, becoming a Premier League Player of the Year in 2014-15 and playing a starring role in two league titles before he was sold to Real Madrid in 2019.

But Roman Abramovich sanctioned more additions to help bolster Roberto Di Matteo’s Champions League-winning squad, with nine others arriving that summer alongside the Belgian. We’ve taken a look at how they fared.

Charly Musonda Jr

After Lucas Piazon was finally sold to Braga in 2021, Charly Musonda Jr – son of the former Anderlecht and Zambia stalwart Charly Musonda Sr – made a good go of becoming Chelsea’s new perennial loanee.

He had a reputation as a teenage prodigy and was just 15 years old when Chelsea reportedly beat the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United to his signature.

Musonda spent the following years developing his skills in Chelsea’s famed academy, featuring alongside the likes of Dominic Solanke, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fikayo Tomori and Tammy Abraham as the young Blues won the FA Youth Cup in 2014 and 2015.

He made three Premier League appearances, and seven in all competitions, as Antonio Conte’s Chelsea finished a disappointing 5th in 2017-18, but he’s had to look further afield for more senior opportunities. Loans at Real Betis, Celtic and – of course – Vitesse followed before he was finally sold to Segunda Division club Levante last summer. He’s made nine league appearances for the promotion-chasing Spanish club.

Lamisha Musonda 

Charly’s older brother, Lamisha, left Anderlecht for Chelsea on the same day as his sibling in July 2012.

He spent 18 months on the books at Stamford Bridge but never made appeared for the first team and returned to Belgium in January 2014, signing for KV Mechelen, but only made two Belgian Pro League appearances.

After three years without a club, he joined Spanish lower-division side UE Llogstera B in 2017 and went on to represent Congolese club TP Mazembe before hanging up his boots at the age of 27 back in 2019.

Tika Musonda

The lesser-known third Musonda brother, the Tomi to Shola and Sammy Ameobi, doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page.

After five years at Chelsea, making the odd appearance for the youth ranks and one international appearance for Zambia in 2014, Tika moved to UE Llagostera B (along with Lamisha) on a free transfer in 2017 before another brief stint at Palamos CF.

He was released by Palamos and retired from football before rejoining Chelsea as a youth scout in November 2020.

Andreas Christensen

A highly-rated Denmark Under-16 international, Christensen first arrived at Chelsea not long after his 16th birthday.

After featuring alongside Charly Musonda in the 2014 FA Youth Cup win, he eventually made his senior debut on the final day of the 2014-15 title-winning campaign and also starred as Chelsea’s youngsters won the UEFA Youth League that same year.

Having impressed during his two-year loan at Borussia Monchengladbach, named their Player of the Year in 2015-16, he has since returned to his parent club and made regular appearances under Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri and Frank Lampard, before Thomas Tuchel took the centre-half’s game to a new level.

A hero of Chelsea’s 2021 Champions League triumph, the Dane left Stamford Bridge when his contract expired last summer. He’s now part of an absolutely exceptional defensive unit at La Liga champions Barcelona.

READ: Andreas Christensen, Marcos Alonso & the last 13 players to play for both Chelsea and Barcelona

Marko Marin

Former Germany international Marin, who made two appearances for Die Mannschaft at the 2010 World Cup, left Werder Bremen in the summer of 2012.

After signing for the Blues for an undisclosed fee, his four years at the club amounted to 16 appearances in 2012-13, including a peripheral part in their Europa League-winning campaign.

Loans to Sevilla, Fiorentina, Anderlecht and Trabzonspor followed before he moved permanently to Olympiakos in 2016.

Now retired after departing Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros last summer after short spells in Saudi Arabia with Al Raed and Al-Ahli. That’ll be a well-stamped passport.

Thorgan Hazard

Having turned out for Lens while his older brother was tearing it up for their local rivals Lille, Thorgan and Eden enjoyed a family reunion at Chelsea in 2012 – but it wouldn’t last beyond pre-season.

While Eden became an instant hit at Stamford Bridge, Thorgan made one appearance for Chelsea’s Under-21s before spending his entire time away on loan. Two years at Zulte Waregem were followed by a year at Borussia Monchengladbach, where his move was made permanent in 2015.

More of a late developer than his superstar sibling, Thorgan started to shine in the Bundesliga, hitting double figures for goals in back-to-back seasons at Gladbach before making the step up to Borussia Dortmund in 2019. He also became a regular for Belgium, playing alongside Eden, since 2017.

The younger Hazard brother left Dortmund in the summer, returning to Belgium and signing for Anderlecht.

Oscar

Slightly erratic and occasionally brilliant, Chelsea paid a reported £25million for Oscar when he was still just 21 and making a name for himself in Brazil.

He scored 38 goals in 203 appearances for the Blues, playing a prominent role in the 2014-15 Premier League title, before a sudden shock £52million move to Shanghai SIPG in December 2016, which remains the Chinese Super League’s record signing.

“To end my career, I would like to return to Chelsea,” the Brazilian told The Guardian in January 2021. “I built a beautiful story there and went to the Premier League very young, at a time when fans did not trust Brazilian players that much.

“I helped change that. I’ll be a bit older when I try this move again but, as I am playing very well, with good stats, I feel there is still a place for me at Chelsea.”

Cesar Azpilicueta

The Spanish defender, 33, spent 10 seasons at Stamford Bridge and made over 500 appearances for the Blues.

Azpilicueta – or ‘Dave’ as he’s affectionately known – won the Premier League (twice), the FA Cup, the League Cup, the Europa League (twice) and went on to complete the full set with the Champions League in 2021.

Having seen the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba depart during his time at the club, Azpilicueta became Chelsea’s longest-serving senior player and a trusted leader at the club before finally departing for Atletico Madrid in the summer.

READ: Ranking every Chelsea captain of the PL era from worst to best

Victor Moses

Believe it or not, Moses almost managed a full decade on Chelsea’s books after Wigan eventually accepted a fifth bid for his services in 2012.

The Nigeria international scored 10 goals in 43 appearances during his debut season, but he had an up-and-down time of it ever since.

Loans to Liverpool, Stoke and West Ham followed before he suddenly found himself welcomed back into the fold, becoming a perfect candidate to play as a wing-back in Conte’s title-winning 3-5-2 system in 2016-17.

Things weren’t so successful the following year, and following the Italian coach’s sacking, Moses returned to the loan carousel, turning out for Fenerbahce and briefly reuniting with Conte at Inter before featuring for Spartak Moscow in 2020-21. He joined the Russian side on a permanent deal in 2021 and remains there today.

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