Alvaro Morata is Chelsea’s newest signing, and the Spaniard has been given the number nine shirt at Stamford Bridge.
The 24-year-old is the fourth addition to Antonio Conte’s title-winning squad, joining Tiemoue Bakayoko, Antonio Rudiger, and Willy Caballero as the Blues’ new signings this summer.
Morata joins the club for a reported initial fee of £58 million, with the fee potentially rising up to £70 million. He leaves Spanish champions Real Madrid, after one season in the Spanish capital.
Despite spending most of the season behind the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, Morata still managed to score 15 goals in 26 league appearances, with a further five coming in other competitions.
In recent history, the number nine shirt has been said to be ‘cursed’, with the players receiving the number playing poorly, and not hitting the form as expected of then. Chelsea fans will be hoping Morata will be a worthy number nine.
Chelsea fans are set to get their first glimpse of the player on Tuesday against Bayern Munich, so we look back at the last five players to wear the number nine shirt.
Radamel Falcao
Colombian striker Falcao spent one season on loan at Stamford Bridge and was given the number nine shirt.
After a poor loan spell at Manchester United, Chelsea themselves signed the striker on loan from Monaco.
Falcao’s form did not improve, as he only scored one goal in the 10 league appearances he made. At the end of the 2015/16 season, Chelsea decided against making the deal permanent.
Falcao returned to Monaco and was a key player as the side won the Ligue 1 title. The 31-year-old scored 21 goals as they beat PSG to the league title.
Fernando Torres
Fernando Torres was also a former Chelsea number nine.
Before Morata, Torres was Chelsea’s club-record signing, joining from Liverpool in 2011 for £50 million.
Torres’ Chelsea career never really hit the heights his price tag demanded. In the time he spent at Stamford Bridge, he scored 20 goals in 110 league appearances.
Torres left Chelsea in August 2015, joining AC Milan on loan before making it permanent in January. Torres was immediately sent on loan to his former club Atletico Madrid, before joining them permanently in the summer.
Franco Di Santo
Argentine Franco Di Santo briefly wore number nine at Stamford Bridge.
Di Santo joined Chelsea in 2008 after impressing in Chile. He was put in the reserve side, but after impressive form towards the end of the 2007/08 season, he was promoted into the first team. During his spell in West London, he made eight league appearances and failed to open his account.
Since leaving Chelsea in 2010, Di Santo has played for Wigan Athletic but left England to forge a successful career in Germany.
Steve Sidwell
English midfielder Steve Sidwell is another player to wear number nine at Chelsea.
A product of the Arsenal academy, Sidwell signed for Chelsea in 2007 following the expiration of his Reading contract. He spent one season at Chelsea, making 15 appearances in the league, failing to dislodge the likes of Frank Lampard and Michael Essien.
He left Chelsea in 2008 to join Aston Villa, and has gone on to play for Fulham and Stoke, and is currently at recently promoted side Brighton.
Khalid Boulahrouz
Despite being a defender, Khalid Boulahrouz was given the number nine shirt during his time at Chelsea.
The Dutchman had a brief spell at Chelsea, only making 13 league appearances during the 2006/07 season, with Jose Mourinho often favouring Michael Essien in central defence over Boulahrouz. He did make a further seven appearances in the FA Cup and Champions League.
After a year at Stamford Bridge, the defender was loaned to Sevilla, before departing permanently to Stuttgart a year later. He later played for Sporting Lisbon, Brondby, and Feyenoord, before retiring in February 2016.