Chelsea’s new fourth “Cup” kit spotted in the wild, looks less spectacular than expected

The new Chelsea fourth kit (i.e. “Cup kit”) has been teased and leaked rather thoroughly in the past couple weeks, and now New York City-based Football.London writer Rob Guest spotted it in the wild as well ahead of its official release on Saturday (December 21).

And unfortunately, it does not live up to the hype, at least not based on his pictures.

You’ll have to click over to Football.London to see them, but neither the color, the apparent material, the tonal sponsor logos, nor the overall vibe it’s giving off as it hangs in the shop is what I was expecting. Of course, maybe it’s just the camera and the lighting that’s affecting the presumed magnificence of this throwback number. Polyester never hangs well on shirt hangers after all, but it looks little more than a bargain bin training shirt that will cling and stretch out in all the wrong places.

As a reminder of how it (“should”) look like, here are some of the official Nike studio shots that have leaked recently.

All that said, if you’re like me and are hoping for some quality fashion items and training gear to come out to match the fourth kit, we may be in luck.

Here’s what looks like a glorious polo shirt, for example. Please don’t be polyester, which is a gross Nike habit.