Andre Villas-Boas is regarded by many as the worst Chelsea manager of the Roman Abramovich era.

Recruited on the back of Carlo Ancelotti's brutal dismissal, Villas-Boas arrived at Stamford Bridge with a 'mini Mourinho' reputation having followed in his compatriot and former boss' footsteps in succeeding at FC Porto.

However, it quickly became apparent that Villas-Boas couldn't muster the same magic as the 'Special One' in west London and was ultimately sacked just nine months into his tenure.

Villas-Boas' reign as Chelsea manager

With the Blues on the brink of exiting the Champions League and marooned in fifth place in the Premier League at the time of his dismissal, it's no wonder that Chelsea fans don't look back on Villas-Boas' reign with much joy.

But perhaps surprisingly, there was an overwhelming positive that came from what most fans would agree is one of the most negative periods to unfold while Abramovich was in the boardroom.

That, dear reader, is the fact that Chelsea's recruitment under Villas-Boas was so remarkable that it's still stunning to look back on all these years later.

It seems unlikely that the Blues' business could have been so eye-catching during what was nothing short of a nine-month nosedive, but believe it or not, Villas-Boas' time in west London was one populated by superlative signings.

At least, if not superlative in the immediate aftermath of their arrival, certainly superlative when viewed through the wing-mirrors of hindsight.

And while, of course, it's impossible for us to know exactly how much of a role Villas-Boas personally had in the acquisitions, that doesn't make it any less interesting that they all occurred during his stewardship.

Who were Villas-Boas' signings as Chelsea boss?

However, before we get too carried away with ourselves, you need to know what we're on about, so be sure to check out every major signing that Chelsea made while Villas-Boas was in charge down below:

1 Thibaut Courtois

Man, what a way to start. Not only did Courtois go onto win the FA Cup, League Cup and two Premier League titles with Chelsea further down the line, but the mighty Belgian has also established himself as one of the finest goalkeepers of a generation.

Courtois can now boast a Champions League title, Yashin Trophy, World Cup Golden Glove, three La Liga crowns and a top 10 finish in the 2022 Ballon d'Or.

Now in his 30s, Courtois will surely go down as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation when he decides to put an end to his football career.

2 Oriol Romeu

Neither a great signing nor an inherently bad one, Romeu might not have made a big impression at Chelsea across just 33 outings, but he did go onto establish himself as a Premier League stalwart with seven years at Southampton.

After impressing at Girona, Romeu made the move back to the club where it all began for him this summer: Barcelona. The veteran midfielder signed a three-year contract with the Catalan giants.

3 Romelu Lukaku

Ok, ok, ok, so Lukaku's return to Chelsea might have gone up in flames, but the reality of the situation remains that the Blues won the race to sign one of the most exciting young strikers in the world back in 2012.

And with over 100 Premier League goals, 68 strikes for Belgium and hero status at Inter Milan having inspired them to Serie A glory, Lukaku undoubtedly ranks as one of the premier goalscorers of the last decade.

4 Juan Mata

An instant success that Blues fans still reminisce upon with fondness to this day, Mata collected Chelsea’s Player of the Year award in each of his full seasons at the club.

He played 135 times and scored 33 goals before joining Manchester United in a then club record fee of £37.1 million. He spent eight years at the Red Devils.

5 Ulises Dávila

Ah well, not all of Villas-Boas' signings could be unadulterated hits with Dávila, just 20 years old at the time of his arrival, never making a senior appearance for the Blues.

The attacking midfielder has gone on to play for numerous clubs across the globe since departing Chelsea in 2015.

He has played in Mexico with Santos Lugana, India with Delhi Dynamos (now Odisha Football Club) and New Zealand with Wellington Pheonix. He currently turns out for Australian outfit Macarthur FC.

6 Raul Meireles

An underrated buy, this, with Meireles arriving off the back of being named PFA Fans' Player of the Year at Liverpool and duly making 45 appearances in his only full season for Chelsea, famously scoring in the Champions League quarter-finals.

The Portuguese midfielder spent four years at Fenerbahçe before hanging up his boots in 2016.

7 Sam Hutchinson

Re-signed from an early retirement brought about by injury, Hutchinson managed two further senior appearances for his boyhood club before departing in 2014.

Now in his mid 30s, he now finds himself at Reading after spells at Nottingham Forest, Vitesse, Pafos and Sheffield Wednesday.

8 Kenneth Omeruo

Omeruo might never have pulled on the famous blue jersey in a first-team match, but he's still enjoyed a successful career nevertheless.

The Nigerian defender joined Turkish outfit Kasımpaşa this summer after four seasons in Spain with CD Leganés.

He has been a key player for his country since making his debut in 2013. He has amassed 60 caps for the Super Eagles at the time of writing and was part of their triumphant Africa Cup of Nations side in the same year he made his first outing.

9 Gary Cahill

Another signing that should not be underestimated. Cahill made the move to Chelsea in 2012 when he joined in a £7 million move from Bolton Wanderers.

The English defender ended his Chelsea career seven years later as club captain with almost 300 appearances to his name, winning eight major honours including the Champions League.

He had spells with Crystal Palace and Bournemouth before hanging up his boots in 2022.

10 Lucas Piazon

A curious swing and a miss with Piazon astonishingly spending nine years on Chelsea's books despite only actually ever playing three times for the club and missing a penalty in his solitary Premier League outing.

Piazon recently returned to Braga after a loan spell at Botafogo.

11 Patrick Bamford

Turn your nose up at Bamford as much as you like, but the simple fact of the matter is that he matured into a striker lethal enough to earn an England cap and produce a 17-goal Premier League season.

Bamford is currently in his sixth season at Leeds United and will be hoping to fire them back to England's top tier.

12 Kevin De Bruyne

Do we even need to explain this one? Look, we all know the story of how things never worked out for De Bruyne at the Bridge, but boy does this signing look painful now when you consider how much of a Premier League icon he's gone on to become.

A back-to-back PFA Players' Player of the Year award winner with over 100 Premier League assists, five English league crowns and a podium finish in the Ballon d'Or, De Bruyne truly is one of the greats of our time.

A remarkable list of signings

Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is a pretty astonishing list of signings when you consider that they all took place within arguably the most hectic nine months of the entire Abramovich era.

For all the problems and fallouts that blighted Villas-Boas' reign at Stamford Bridge, it couldn't be any clearer that everything was running smoothly from a recruitment standpoint regardless of how much the Portuguese specifically had to do with it.

The likes of Courtois, Lukaku and De Bruyne might not have proven to be impressive signings in the short-term, but boy did their future performances make the cut-price moves they made to Chelsea in the first place look like coups.

If anything, Villas-Boas' signings as Chelsea boss go to show that the club, at times, can be just as good at jettisoning the talent they already have as they can be at identifying it in the first place.

There's definitely a parallel universe out there where Villas-Boas has a statue outside the Bridge having led a Chelsea side containing De Bruyne and Lukaku to countless trophies, that's for sure.

What is Andre Villas-Boas up to now?

Villas-Boas has been out of football since 2021 when he left his post at Marseille. The Portuguese manager has participated in rally car driving in the past few years.

After participating in the WRC Vodafone Rally de Portugal in 2022, Villas Boas said, per the Sun: "It is one of those things you dream of as a boy. I have been watching rallies since I was a little boy, and Formula One as well.

"It is a very special, it is a great opportunity as we do it for our causes for good. It is very stressful to tell you the truth. I wasn't aware of how intense it was.

"But we did well and finished on a good note, happy with the jump because I was scared to death."

Villas-Boas is certainly keeping himself busy during his time away from football. It remains to be seen when he will return to management, if at all.