With the halfway point just a few games away, it would be fair to say that, so far, this season has been a mixed bag for Chelsea.
On the one hand, Enzo Maresca’s side have looked incredible at points, beating the likes of Barcelona and Liverpool and then holding Premier League leaders Arsenal to a draw despite being down to ten men.
However, they’ve lost to the likes of Leeds United, Sunderland, Manchester United, and Brighton & Hove Albion, which has kept them from being genuine title contenders.
Moreover, several of Chelsea’s signings don’t seem to have added all that much to the side, with Jamie Gittens being an obvious example of someone struggling to adapt to the league. However, another player could be described as an even more pointless addition.
Gittens’ poor start to life at Chelsea
When it was announced that Chelsea had finally secured the services of Gittens in the summer, there was an understandable level of excitement from fans and pundits alike.
After all, here was a young English talent who had just produced 17 goal involvements in 49 games for one of Germany’s biggest clubs and was so impressive at points that Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley even labelled him “England’s best left winger.”
However, much of the hype around his arrival has now disappeared, as while he hasn’t been disastrous for the Blues, the former Dortmund star hasn’t been impressive either.
For example, in 19 appearances, totalling 855 minutes, the Reading-born ace has scored one goal and provided five assists, which comes out to a goal involvement every 3.16 games, or every 142.5 minutes.
Worse still, three of those six goal involvements came in the League Cup, two came against promoted teams in the league, and the last one was an assist in the 5-1 drubbing of ten-man Ajax.
Gittens’ recent league form
Season
24/25
25/26
Appearances
32
12
Minutes
1784′
426′
Goals
8
0
Assists
4
2
Goal Involvements per Match
0.37
0.16
Minutes per Goal Involvement
148.66′
213′
All Stats via Transfermarkt
In other words, the only times in which the 21-year-old has turned up for the West Londoners have been in relatively easy games against far weaker opposition.
With all this in mind, it’s not exactly difficult to see why one analyst labelled him a “pointless signing.”
However, that tag might be more accurate for another of Chelsea’s summer signings.
The Chelsea signing more pointless than Gittens
The unfortunate truth for Maresca and Chelsea is that fans could argue that more than a few of their summer signings fall into the pointless category, be it Liam Delap, who has one goal to his name, or Alejandro Garnacho, who hasn’t been much better than Gittens.
However, when it really comes down to it, what makes a signing truly pointless?
Surely a signing is pointless if the player in question cost a significant sum of money but rarely even plays, which is the situation Jorrel Hato finds himself in.
The Dutch defender joined the Blues from Ajax for around £40m in the summer and was the subject of plenty of hype from fans and pundits.
For example, respected talent scout Jacek Kulig labelled the youngster an “immense” prospect, and based on his performances for the Amsterdam outfit, it was easy to see why.
Hato’s senior Ajax record
Appearances
111
Starts
102
Minutes
9121′
Goals
4
Assists
9
Goal Involvements per Match
0.11
Minutes per Goal Involvement
701.61′
Points per Game
1.86
All Stats via Transfermarkt
Despite still being just 19 years old, the Rotterdam-born gem had made 111 competitive appearances for the club and captained them on multiple occasions before his move to West London.
On top of that, he had also won six senior caps for the Netherlands.
However, since his move, the versatile defender has made just eight appearances across all competitions, six of which have been starts.
Moreover, his last appearance came in the 2-2 draw against Qarabağ in the Champions League, a game in which he was at least partially at fault for both goals.
What makes this lack of gametime all the more confusing is that Maresca’s other defensive options at this time have hardly been spectacular, with Tosin Adarabioyo particularly poor.
Ultimately, Chelsea might turn to Hato more as the season progresses, but as things stand, his lack of any real game time is making him look like an even more pointless signing than Gittens.
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