Chelsea are more ruthless with their personal actions. I can certainly think of more Chelsea players who were deemed surplus to requirements at the time and went on to have good careers elsewhere. Chelsea have also enjoyed many periods of success over the past 20 years, so their players often come with championship experience. Chelsea generally quotes reasonable prices and is willing to move quickly. And, there’s the possibility you can get a better price if they/their family feel settled in London.

Don’t get me wrong, I hesitate when I see those links and am personally lukewarm on Havertz (especially with the fees being thrown around) and Jorginho (had a couple of great games for us but seems like a short-term gamble that will come out to a small loss). But I can see why we’ve targeted their players, more so than other teams. I see Luiz as a success and Willian as an avoidable mistake, so our record is decidedly mixed.

I think focusing on the “reject” label is misguided (with any team). Better fits can unlock talent, which is almost always there. But I definitely understand why people have paused over the specific Chelsea players we’ve been linked with (and followed through on) in recent years.