The number nine curse at Chelsea existed since the big money signing of Fernando Torres from Premier League rivals Liverpool many years ago. The Blues secured the transfer of Fernando Torres from Liverpool for £50m in January 2011 but the Spaniard didn't meet the expectations of the Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge.
Fernando Torres was one of the best strikers in world football when Chelsea snapped him up from the Reds but he was unable to produce his Liverpool form at Chelsea. Torres was able to win the elusive Champions League title before leaving Chelsea though he was not a regular in the starting XI when the feat happened under Roberto Di Matteo.
Since Torres left Chelsea, the likes of fellow strikers Gonzalo Higuain and Radamel Falcao have worn the number nine jersey with little or no success. England international Tammy Abraham was able to break the number nine jersey curse after he showed his quality when he was drafted into the first team by former manager Frank Lampard on the back of his successful loan spell at Aston Villa.
Abraham was promoted to the first team in the summer of 2019 following his return from Villa. He went on to emerge as the team's highest goalscorer in each of the last two seasons.
In his first season with the Chelsea first team, Tammy Abraham scored 18 goals and eight assists in 47 games. The England player was involved in a total of 2960 minutes during his debut season as a Chelsea regular.
Abraham netted 12 goals in his second season as a Chelsea starter plus six assists. The attacker was a regular in the Chelsea team until the arrival of current manager Thomas Tuchelat the start of this year. He played for a total of just 1533 minutes.