5) Afonso Alves (Middlesbrough)
Signed for £15m in January 2008 after scoring 48 goals in 48 games for Heerenveen, he was billed as Boro’s great saviour who would fire them to safety. However, the move turned into a disaster. A memorable brace in a 2-2 draw with Manchester United did bring his first goals for the club, but that proved to the highlight of an abysmal 18 months in the North East.

