The upcoming season will be the 25th edition of the Premier League and we’re taking a look back over the last quarter of a century at some of the highlights and lowlights of the best league in the world.
Here we take a look at the 25 worst signings in Premier League history. Many players have (dis)graced the league over the years, and it was tough to narrow them all down. But much like the X Factor auditions; we’ve whittled it down to some of the least talented that we’ve had the misery of seeing.
Winston Bogarde
Barcelona -> Chelsea, 2000
The Dutch defender had an impressive list of clubs on his CV, but he was deemed surplus to requirements within weeks of arriving at Stamford Bridge. The club desperately tried to force him out, but he saw out his extortionate £40,000-a-week contract and played just nine games in four years in West London.
Andriy Shevchenko
AC Milan -> Chelsea, 2006
Shevchenko’s arrival at Chelsea was highly anticipated, but he’ll go down as one of the worst signings ever by a Premier League team. Roman Abramovich signed him, but Jose Mourinho didn’t want him and he was eventually loaned back to AC Milan, where he was never able to recover his form. Fernando Torres and Mateja Kezman also deserve mentions for establishing Stamford Bridge as a graveyard for prolific goal scorers.
Andy Carroll
Newcastle -> Liverpool, 2011
Carroll arrived at Anfield on the same day as Luis Suarez, but his price tag was £13 million more than the Uruguayan. At the time he was the most expensive Englishman ever, but injury blighted his career at Anfield. Brendan Rodgers’ arrival was the beginning of the end for Carroll, and Liverpool eventually sold him for £20 million less than they’d originally paid for him.
Massimo Taibi
Venezia -> Manchester United, 1999
The Italian goalkeeper arrived at Old Trafford in 1999 for £4.5 million. He made just four appearances, costing his side over £1 million per game and he’s best remembered for his howling errors. The most famous involved a tame shot from Matt Le Tissier which he allowed to pass through his legs.
Alfonso Alves
Heerenveen -> Middlesbrough, 2008
Alves scored 45 goals in 39 games for Heerenveen in the Eredivisie, prompting Middlesbrough to spend £13 million for his services. For every Luis Suarez, there’s an Alfonso Alves. Alves was bitterly disappointing in the Premier League and never adapted to the country, scoring less than one goal every four games for The Boro.
Steve Marlet
Lyon -> Fulham, 2001
Fulham broke their then transfer record by bringing Marlet to Craven Cottage for £11.5 million in 2001. He had scored 5 goals in the Champions League the year before, but he was utterly terrible and club owner Mohamed Al Fayed tried to sure ex-manager Jean Tigana for signing him. He managed just 11 goals in 54 games before being loaned out to Marseille.
Eric Djemba Djemba
Nantes -> Manchester United, 2003
Djemba Djemba was signed to be the heir of Roy Keane. After 20 appearances, it was realised that this was never going to be the case, with many labelling him as Sir Alex Ferguson’s worst ever signing. He eventually moved to Aston Villa, where Gavin McCann kept him out of the side, further highlighting how out of place he was at Old Trafford. He was soon gone from the Premier League, never to be heard from again apart from in articles with similar titles to this one. An honourable mention goes to Kleberson, who was equally as useless in the United midfield.
El Hadji Diouf
Lens -> Liverpool, 2002
Liverpool splashed out £10 million on one of the Senegalese heroes from the 2002 World Cup, but this ended up being completely wasted. He was hated by Liverpool legends Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard, and he only scored three goals in his two seasons at Anfield. Ill-discipline has blighted his career and his time in Liverpool is more remembered for him spitting at a Celtic fan during a UEFA Cup game, than firing the ball in the back of the net.
Juan Sebastian Veron
Lazio -> Manchester United -> Chelsea, 2001
Veron was a marquee signing by Sir Alex Ferguson in 2001, but he failed to adapt to the Premier League. Ferguson’s main issue was his lack of effort in learning the language and he was eventually sold to Chelsea in 2003. This move didn’t work out either and he eventually moved back to Italy, having left little impact.
Gael Kakuta
Lens -> Chelsea, 2009
Kakuta features on this list purely for the sheer hassle his transfer to Chelsea caused. A transfer row emerged between Lens and Chelsea, with the French side claiming that the Londoners had been guilty of inducing him to breach his contract. Ultimately it was all in vain, as Kakuta made just 6 appearances in his 7 year spell in London.
Jo
CSKA Moscow -> Manchester City, 2008
Jo arrived at Manchester City in 2008 for £18 million, with manager Mark Hughes describing him as a real coup. He proved disastrous, scoring just three times in 21 appearances, before being loaned out to Everton seven months later.
Adama Traoré
Barcelona -> Aston Villa, 2015
The Aston Villa side of 2015/16 was the worst that the Premier League has ever seen, and although it’s harsh to blame it all on Traoré, he was an unmitigated disaster. Villa signed him for £7 million from Barcelona, and they didn’t get anywhere near their money’s worth. Traoré made just 4 appearances, before he was dropped due to indiscipline. A dreadful signing in a dreadful team.
Corrado Grabbi
Ternana -> Blackburn, 2001
Beware the confusion between him and fellow Italian flop Bernado Corradi. Blackburn spent a record £6.75 on Grabbi in 2001, but the Italian didn’t adapt to the English game and was ignored by the rest of the team, both on and off the pitch. He scored just two goals in his three year stay at Ewood Park.
Savio Nsereko
Brescia -> West Ham, 2009
£9 million was spent on Savio by West Ham, bizarre considering he’d scored just three senior goals in the Italian Serie B. He started one game, and made nine substitute appearances, failing to find the back of the net in any of them. Since then, he’s scored 4 goals in his career.
Jose Bosingwa
Chelsea -> QPR, 2012
Bosingwa didn’t do much wrong at Chelsea, but he was one of a number of players who took the mick at QPR and it’s for this reason that he’ll have to go down as one of the Premier League’s worst ever signings. He refused to sit on the bench against Fulham, whilst he was caught on cameras smiling and laughing after QPR had been relegated.
Konstantinos Mitroglu
Olympiakos -> Fulham, 2014
Fulham were dreadful in 2013/14, but there was hope after they spent £13 million on Mitroglu in the January transfer window. Sadly for the Cottagers, the Greek striker turned up unfit and desperately overweight, playing just three games before returning to Greece on a season long loan the following summer.
Bebé
Vitoria -> Manchester United, 2010
The story is that Sir Alex Ferguson had £7 million to spend; the choice was Bebé or James Rodriguez. Ferguson went for the former, despite having never seen him play. He made just two Premier League appearances in his four year spell at Old Trafford, before being sold to Benfica.
Bosko Balaban
Dinamo Zagreb -> Aston Villa, 2001
Balaban cost Aston Villa £5.8 million in 2001, arguably £5.8 million too much for a player that no one had heard of. He made 9 appearances in two and a half years in the Midlands, picking up £20,000 a week. He was a disaster at Villa, but went on to be quite successful in Europe’s lesser leagues.
Sergei Rebrov
Dynamo Kiev -> Tottenham, 2000
£11 million was a lot of money in 2000, with Rebrov arriving at Spurs after a successive period at Dynamo Kiev. The Ukrainian’s poor form contributed to George Graham’s sacking in 2001, and new manager Glenn Hoddle didn’t like him. He had a couple of loan spells in Turkey and didn’t impress at West Ham either.
Roque Junior
AC Milan -> Leeds, 2003
Leeds looked to have pulled off a coup by signing a World Cup winner on loan, but Roque Junior was just dreadful. In his seven games in the Whites’ porous defence, they conceded 24 goals,in a season that ended with relegation to the Championship. He was also sent off on his league debut.
Roberto Soldado
Valencia -> Tottenham, 2013
One of the many players who was burdened with replacing Gareth Bale, Soldado was a complete flop at Tottenham. He had a scoring record of a goal every 2 games at Valencia, but he couldn’t hit a barn door with a banjo at White Hart Lane. He scored just 7 times in 52 games and was a complete waste of £26 million.
Seth Johnson
Derby -> Leeds, 2001
Johnson was a promising talent at Derby, but his transfer will forever be remembered by his agent walking into Peter Ridsdale’s office asking for £25,000-a-week and leaving with £40,000. Johnson’s transfer is an example of their overspending, but the truth is that he was terrible. He had 4 years at Elland Road, encompassing just over 50 appearances due to injury restrictions, and you know it’s going badly when you’re left out of the squad simply to avoid triggering any extra contract clauses.
Thomas Brolin
Parma -> Leeds, 1995
One for the Premier League aficionados, he signed for Leeds for £4.5 million back in 1995. He was impressive for Sweden and even better at Parma, but he arrived overweight and it never worked out at Elland Road. He was there for two long, arduous years, which consisted of multiple unexplained absences and injuries, and he was equally as inept in a loan spell at Crystal Palace.
Albert Luque
Deportivo La Coruna -> Newcastle, 2005
There have been many poor purchases by Newcastle over the years, but Albert Luque was particularly disappointing. Signed for £9.5 million from Deportivo La Coruna, he managed only one goal in his first season, and just two in his second season. Fortunately Alan Shearer could still be relied upon for goals at the time.
Ali Dia
Blyth Spartans? -> Southampton, 1996
Dia will go down as a Premier League legend, but for all of the wrong reasons. Southampton manager Graeme Souness had been persuaded over the phone by someone professing to be George Weah. Souness was tricked and Dia was named on the bench against Leeds in November 1996. Dia came on for an injured Matt Le Tissier in the first half, but was substituted just 20 minutes later when Souness realised that he was rubbish. The worst ever signing in the Premier League.
