Premier League clubs spent over £800m in the summer transfer window, but not all the new signings were great value for money. Here are the ten worst deals including Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge newcomers.
10. Joe Cole (West Ham United to Aston Villa – free transfer)
It’s hard to label a free transfer anything but a bargain, but Joe Cole is an incredibly unusual signing for Aston Villa. The former West Ham, Chelsea and Liverpool attacking midfielder boasts the slowest stepovers in history, and is far from the creative force fans hoped he would become when he first emerged. If he can’t get in the Aston Villa team, what was the point?
9. Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid to Chelsea – £20m)
Filipe Luis is an excellent player, and won La Liga with Atleti last season, but it nevertheless seems strange for Chelsea to pay £20 million for someone who cannot even get in the Blues’ starting XI.
Luis is 28 years old, and is unlikely to have similar resale value in future.
8. Abel Hernandez (Palermo to Hull City, £10m)
Abel Hernandez has an excellent goalscoring record in Serie B, the second tier of Italian football. He scored 14 goals in 28 league matches last term.
However, he has managed just 17 strikes in 83 matches in Serie A, and his top flight football pedigree does not make him worthy of a £10 million fee. Still, that’s what Hull City paid.
7. George Boyd (Hull City to Burnley, £3m)
George Boyd is now Burnley’s joint record signing with Steven Fletcher, having moved to Turf Moor for around £3 million.
With two goals and two assists ever in the Premier League, Boyd has some way to go before he proves himself capable of helping the Clarets retain their top flight status.
6. Philippe Senderos (Valencia to Aston Villa, free transfer)
“Philippe Senderos had a fantastic World Cup,” said Steve McManaman on BT Sport before Aston Villa played Newcastle United on August 23rd.
Senderos played 81 minutes for Switzerland in Brazil. The team conceded five goals in his time on the pitch.
That doesn’t bode well for Aston Villa.
5. Adam Lallana (Southampton to Liverpool, £25m)
Adam Lallana might very well be a fine player, but Liverpool paid substantially over the odds for his signature.
The 27 year-old cost the Reds £25 million, and is not even assured of a first team starting spot.
Lallana may yet come good, but it’s hard to see him taking the place of Raheem Sterling, Philippe Coutinho or Jordan Henderson ahead of Steven Gerrard in the Liverpool midfield.
4. Eliaquim Mangala (FC Porto to Manchester City – £32m)
Eliaquim Mangala cost an incredible £32 million, making him the most expensive Premier League defender ever, and yet the former FC Porto star is unable to get in the France starting XI.
Mangala is an immense physical presence who is surprisingly quick over the ground – although he isn’t currently fit enough to play for Man City – but his positioning and decision making can let him down.
This signing could very well be quite a gamble for Manuel Pellegrini’s men.
3. Sandro (Tottenham Hotspur to QPR, £10m)
Ever since Sandro started calling himself the beast at Tottenham Hotspur, his career has started to slide. Julio Baptista didn’t perform brilliantly with the same moniker either, so perhaps the nickname is the issue.
Either way, Sandro hasn’t proven himself worthy of a £10m price tag in recent months, and the Brazilian holding midfielder represents a major gamble from Harry Redknapp – once again trying his old trick of signing his old players multiple times in lieu of a scouting network.
2. Shane Long (Hull City to Southampton – £12m)
Shane Long has never managed double figures of goals in a Premier League season. Shane Long cost Southampton £12m.
1. Radamel Falcao (AS Monaco to Manchester United, £6m loan fee)
Wages of £265,000 per week will reportedly take the cost of Manchester United signing Radamel Falcao over the £20m mark for a single season – an extraordinary sum for a player not even needed at Old Trafford. Red Devils boss Louis Van Gaal can already call upon Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie up front, and the latter does not need the knee surgery rumoured in recent weeks. Keeping Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez would have been cheaper and a more intelligent use of club money – and taking up the option to buy Falcao would be a colossal misuse of funds.