Chelsea acted like a 'lightning bolt' while Manchester United 'fell asleep' in race to sign Pedro from Barcelona

Chelsea wide boys: How they fared

• 1/9 Pedro

  Winging it? Will the Barcelona man be a Marko Marin or a Eden Hazard?

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• 2/9 Marko Marin

  Age: 26 Signed: April 2012 from Werder Bremen Transfer fee: £6.5 million Loan spells: Sevilla (2013/14), Fiorentina (2014/15), Anderlecht (2014/15) Games: 15 Goals: 1 Mesut Ozil’s former sidekick in Germany couldn’t make it from the bench to the first team at Stamford Bridge and was never a great fit for Rafa Benitez’s defence-first lineup. His loan history suggests a player on the downward slide; his club cannot currently find a taker for him. 1/5

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• 3/9 Eden Hazard

  Age: 24 Signed: June 2012 from Lille Transfer Fee: £32 million Games: 166 Goals: 49 Last season’s Player of the Year has developed from a highly-rated prospect to one of Europe’s premier talents. Under Mourinho’s tutelage the Belgian has gained the consistency and confidence required to carry the champions with him, turning the course of games at will as against Manchester United last season. 5/5

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• 4/9 Victor Moses

  Age: 24 Signed: August 2012 from Wigan Athletic Transfer fee: £10 million Loan spells: Liverpool (2013/14), Stoke (2014/15) Games: 44 Goals: 10 A relatively pleasing debut season for the youngster under Rafa Benitez was followed by ever-improving spells at Liverpool and Stoke, where his fine performances convinced Mourinho to give him a shot in the Chelsea squad this season. His direct play may elevate him from home-grown filler to contributor from the bench. 3/5

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• 5/9 Andre Schurrle

  Age: 24 Signed: June 2013 from Bayer Leverkusen Transfer fee: £18 million Sold: January 2015 to Wolfsburg Transfer fee received: £22 million Games: 65 Goals: 14 Over 18 months at Stamford Bridge Schurrle developed a knack for scoring vital goals for Chelsea, as in wins over Manchester City and PSG. Bizarrely Mourinho chose to let the winger go in spite of a superb World Cup, replacing him with Cuadrado. But crucial goals and a £4 million profit make the German a unique success. 4/5

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• 6/9 Willian

  Age: 27 Signed: August 2013 from Anzhi Makhachkala Transfer fee: £30 million Games: 94 Goals: 8 Chelsea blew Tottenham and Liverpool out of the water to acquire the Brazilian, then a flighty playmaker. One of Mourinho’s most impressive achievements has been reinventing Willian into a hardworking wide man, though he may need to add more goals to his game to hold off Pedro’s challenge. 4/5

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• 7/9 Christian Atsu

  Age: 23 Signed: September 2013 from Porto Transfer fee: £3.5 million Loan spells: Vitesse Arnhem (2013/14), Everton (2014/15), Bournemouth (2015/16) Games: 0 Goals: 0 The Ghanaian youngster is unlikely to ever make it at his parent club having failed to impress on his loan spells. A spell under Eddie Howe on the south coast may be his last chance to show he is worthy of the English top flight. 1/5

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• 8/9 Mohamed Salah

  Age: 23 Signed: January 2014 from FC Basel Transfer fee: £11 million Loan spells: Fiorentina (2014/15), Roma (2015/16) Games: 19 Goals: 2 Seemingly bought to keep him from then-title rivals Liverpool, Mourinho could not find room for the Egyptian winger, who has since flourished at Fiorentina. He seems likely to remain in Italy with Roma having agreed a loan deal that included a right to buy. 2/5

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• 9/9 Juan Cuadrado

  Juan Cuadrado Age: 27 Signed: January 2015 from Fiorentina Transfer fee: £26.1 million Games: 15 Goals: 0 An impressive crosser of the ball at Fiorentina and the Colombian national team, Cuadrado was expected to challenge Willian and Oscar for a starting role. But he has failed to adapt to the English game so far and made little impression on Mourinho, who is understood to be happy to cut his losses on the winger after just seven months. 1/5

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