Some seemingly bad buys!
This original article was posted on the always excellent Fanatix.
5) Andreas Cornelius – Copenhagen to Cardiff City for £8m
This may be harsh on the 20-year-old, but for a newly promoted club to shell out £8m on a relatively unknown Dane is surprising to say the least. He’s only made one appearance in the Premier League so far, where he offered very little, and it seems very unlikely that Cornelius will justify his transfer fee this season.
4) Arouna Kone – Wigan to Everton for £6.8m
The 29-year-old has virtually no sell-on value, so to spend nearly £7m on the striker who was relegated with Wigan last year seemed a little bizarre. Kone hasn’t scored yet for Everton, and is unlikely to get many starts now Romelu Lukaku has joined on loan.
3) Dwight Gayle – Peterborough to Crystal Palace for £6m
In 2012, Gayle was still playing for Bishop’s Stortford in the Conference North. He bagged a modest 13 in the Championship last season, prompting Palace to ludicrously break their transfer record for his signature. Although he’s scored once this season, Gayle was never going to be a player capable of dragging Ian Holloway’s side away from the relegation zone.
2) Iago Aspas – Celta to Liverpool for £7.8m
Aspas has proved himself so far to be at best: an average footballer, and at worst: a pretty poor one. His manager Brendan Rodgers has already apologised for his lack of technical ability, telling fans he makes up for it in his work-rate and desire. No amount of work-rate and desire can effect games when you’re permanently sat on the bench however, and Aspas is already looking like a big waste of Liverpool’s limited resources.
1) Willian – Anzhi to Chelsea for £31m
Unarguably the biggest flop of the summer so far, Willian cost Chelsea a whopping £31m, making him one of the most expensive ever imports into the Premier league – but Jose Mourinho simply won’t play him. Against Spurs on Saturday, the Brazilian flyer didn’t even make the bench, and he looks like he’ll be consigned to League Cup and FA Cup appearances for the rest of the season. Six games in, Willian hasn’t even made a league appearance yet. A monumental waste of a talented player, and an even bigger waste of money.