Mikael FORSSELL

Mikael Forssell's decision to join Chelsea in the summer of 1998 was quite a coup for the west Londoners, as the Finnish starlet was coveted at that time by a number of Europe's major clubs. Aged just 17 when he moved to Stamford Bridge on a free transfer from HJK Helsinki, Forssell was eligible to play for the Blues' youth team when he signed, but so impressive were his performances at that level and also in the reserves that by the following January he was making his first team debut in a clash at Highbury which was won 1-0 by Arsenal, one of just three defeats Chelsea suffered that season en route to qualifying for the UEFA Champions League for the very first time. Three days after the Arsenal defeat, Forssell was given his first start for the Blues and introduced himself to the Stamford Bridge faithful with a spectacular brace as Oxford United were swept aside 4-2 in an FA Cup clash.

His first league goal came three weeks later - a calm finish past former Chelsea custodian Dave Beasant, as Nottingham Forest were beaten 3-1 at the City Ground - and as the season wore on, the young striker became a regular appearance maker in the absence of the injured Tore Andre Flo and Pierluigi Casiraghi, and the departed Brian Laudrup. It was, therefore, a touch disappointing for Forssell (and, in truth, entirely typical of the frustrations he encountered during his time with the club) that he spent much of the following season on loan to Crystal Palace, a victim of Gianluca Vialli's ill-fated decision to spend £10m on Chris Sutton (although the primary victims of that decision were, of course, the Chelsea supporters!). (Kelvin Barker)

The summer of 2000 heralded the arrival of two more strikers at the Bridge - Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Eidur Gudjohnsen - prompting Mikael Forssell to remain at Selhurst Park for another year, after which he returned west when Vialli's replacement, Claudio Ranieri, expressed a desire to see the Finn in action. The young striker did his best to justify Ranieri's faith, incredibly scoring in four consecutive games despite only appearing in each as a second-half substitute, and his final tally of nine goals in all competitions was a fine return from a player who was in the starting line-up on only four occasions that season (although he did appear a staggering 28 times from the subs' bench). Sadly, though, having seemingly made a strong case for a more regular spot in Ranieri's squad, it was almost three years before Forssell reappeared in a Chelsea shirt.

He spent much of an injury-affected 2002/03 season on loan with German club Borussia Moenchengladbach, and the whole of 2003/04 with Birmingham City, where his 17 goals made him the highest-scoring Chelsea player of the campaign, albeit in the colours of another club. Surprisingly, Chelsea then allowed Forssell to spend a further year on loan at St Andrews, but a knee injury brought an early end to that spell, and it was as a Chelsea player that he returned to action late in the campaign, with cameo appearances against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, and at the final home match of the season, as the Stamford Bridge supporters celebrated their first league championship in 50 years with a 1-0 win over Charlton on a memorable day of celebrations in SW6. It was a fine way for Forssell to sign off as a month later, in June 2005, the one-time wonder boy returned to St Andrews on a permanent basis, when he signed for Birmingham for a fee of £3m. (Kelvin Barker)