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Top 25 Chelsea players of the Premier League era - #8

Sports Mole's countdown of the top 25 Chelsea players of the Premier League era continues with number eight - Branislav Ivanovic.

Branislav Ivanovic

Branislav Ivanovic celebrates scoring for Chelsea against Sunderland on December 19, 2015© AFP

Bought from Lokomotiv Moscow for £9m in January 2008, Branislav Ivanovic had to wait until the following season to make his debut for the club, but once he had broken into the team he quickly became a stalwart of the Chelsea defence.

The Serbia international was close to leaving Stamford Bridge without even having made an appearance for the club, but by the time he actually did depart in February 2017 he had made 377 appearances across all competitions, including 261 in the Premier League.

Equally adept at full-back or central defence, Ivanovic also developed a good eye for goal during his time at Chelsea and only John Terry has scored more goals for the club from defence than Ivanovic's 33.

During his nine-year stay in West London Ivanovic helped Chelsea to three Premier League titles, three FA Cups, the League Cup, the 2012 Champions League and the 2013 Europa League, winning the man of the match award in the final of the latter.

The imposing defender was also included in the Premier League Team of the Year on two occasions - both of which ended with Chelsea lifting the title.

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11Wolverhampton WanderersWolves32127134651-543
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18Luton TownLuton3367204670-2425
19Burnley3348213368-3520
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3237223084-5416


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