French defender Laurent Charvet arrived at Stamford Bridge midway through the 1997/98 season with something to prove after a fall-out with his manager at Cannes and having been on the receiving end of a certain amount of mud-slinging from the French club about his behaviour. Charvet denied the accusations and certainly throughout his brief time at Chelsea - and subsequently during spells with Newcastle United and Manchester City - he proved himself to be an enthusiastic, hard-working team member. Recruited on a loan deal until the end of the season, Laurent made his debut for the Blues at right wing-back as a half-time substitute for Dan Petrescu in a League Cup semi-final tie at Arsenal, and created a crucial goal for Mark Hughes as Chelsea won through on aggregate. His Premiership bow came in a 2-0 victory over Barnsley but his opportunities were limited and he eventually made just seven starts for the club, finding the net twice. His goals both came in defeats, 2-1 at West Ham and 3-1 at Leeds, his goal at Elland Road coming courtesy of a 25-yard blast. He was, however, used to good effect on occasions from the substitute's bench and it was in this role that he played his part in a memorable European night at Stamford Bridge when Chelsea overcame a 2-0 aggregate deficit against Vicenza to reach the final of the European Cup Winners Cup, a trophy they subsequently won with Charvet amongst the substitutes. Unfortunately he didn't make it on to the pitch on that famous night in Stockholm and manager Gianluca Vialli, happy in the knowledge that Barcelona's right-back, Albert Ferrer, would be joining Chelsea in time for the new season, chose not to sign him on a permanent contract. Charvet remained in England, though, signing for Newcastle that summer and teaming up early in the following campaign with the man who had originally signed him for Chelsea, Ruud Gullit. (Kelvin Barker)