Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea buys feature prominently in this rip-off English XI…
Luke Shaw has finalised a £27m move to Manchester United from Southampton, while his club captain Adam Lallana is on the verge of a £25m move to Liverpool.
The fees seem extremely inflated, and as a result, we’ve complied an XI of the most absurdly expensive English players!
This team is a serious, serious waste of money.
GK) Chris Kirkland – £8m to Liverpool
In 2001, Liverpool (a side you’ll see throughout this list) paid a British transfer record £8m for a keeper at the time, to bring Kirkland to the club from Coventry. Now aged 33, Kirkland plays in the Championship for Sheffield Wednesday. He only made 25 top flight appearances for Liverpool between 2001 and 2006.
DR) Glen Johnson – £18m to Liverpool
Johnson’s done ok for Liverpool, but for almost £20m, you’d expect him to be at least half decent. While he’s always offered plenty going forward, his defensive lapses have cost his side time and time again.
DC) Joleon Lescott – £22m to Manchester City
In 209, Lescott switched to the Etihad from Everton for a horribly inflated £22m. Granted, he did win a title with the Sky Blues, but we feel that was perhaps slightly more to do with the defensive nous of his centre-back partner Vincent Kompany…
DC) Steven Caulker – £9m to Cardiff
Newly promoted club decide to spend almost £10m on a young English centre-back, and are relegated nine months later without putting up much of a fight. Well that was a waste of money, wasn’t it?
DL) Luke Shaw – £27m to Manchester United
Shaw is now the world’s most expensive teenager, and the fourth most expensive defender of all time. Regardless of his prodigal talent, this is still an absurd fee for someone who has yet to prove himself at an elite level.
MC) Adam Lallana – £25m to Liverpool (Pending)
The deal isn’t yet complete, but it seems an awful lot of money to spend on someone who’s 26-years-old, and only been playing Premier League football for two years. Especially when you consider Chelsea just secured Cesc Fabregas for £27m.
MC) James Milner – £26m to Manchester City
Is James Milner a bad player? No. Has he ever been worth £26m? Not in a million years. Milner is a squad player at the Etihad, and the fact he’s happy to perform a utility role from the bench shows his pedigree. A massive sum of money for an average English player.
AMR) Shaun Wright Phillips – £21m to Chelsea
SWP shone at City, but if Chelsea were prepared to shell out so much money on him, it seems crazy that they never gave him consistent game time in the first team. Now, he sits on the bench for newly promoted QPR.
AMC) Ashley Young – £17m to Manchester United
We know Young normally plays out on the left, but judging by his recent United performances, we don’t think this matters too much. More known now for his diving than his contribution in the final third.
AML) Stewart Downing – £20m to Liverpool
It’s another Liverpool howler… Kenny Dalglish and co. agreed to pay £20m for Downing in 2011. During his first season with the Reds, the winger failed to register a single goal or assist in the top flight. Enough said.
FC) Andy Carroll – £35m to Liverpool
The most expensive English player of all time, Carroll will go down in history as one of the club’s biggest transfer flops. The lanky but technically inept forward managed six Premier League goals for the Reds, before being dumped out on loan to West Ham, who then signed him permanently.
