The Premier League hosts some of the world’s richest clubs. These financial powerhouses seem to attract the greatest footballing talents at ease, or so you think.
Here are some of the worst transfers made in the January window from down the years…
Fernando Torres | Liverpool to Chelsea | £50 Million | 2011
When you think of business disasters, Fernando Torres immediately springs to mind. The Spaniard had enjoyed a fine career in Merseyside, but even a casual fan could see he was rapidly declining.
The experts at Chelsea certainly couldn’t spot this glaring fact and splashed a whopping £50 Million on him, breaking the British transfer record at the time!
Torres went a mind-boggling 903 minutes without a goal before he scored against West Ham, his only goal of the season for his new club. He ended up with just 20 Premier League goals in 110 appearances.
Andy Carroll | Newcastle to Liverpool | £35 Million | 2011
Two of the worst ever January transfers occurred in the same window. This time it was Liverpool who were on the wrong end of a deal.
Carroll was posting respectable numbers at Newcastle at quite a young age, but anyone could see he wasn’t worth £35 Million, especially back then. The transfer could have turned out to be a huge hit, or a catastrophic miss.
It turned out to be the latter, with Carroll still trying to find that pre-Liverpool form today. The striker made 44 League appearances for the Reds, scoring an underwhelming six goals.
Alexis Sanchez | Arsenal to Manchester United | Swap Deal | 2018
Looking back, this transfer appears to be the one that ruined the Chilean’s career. At Arsenal he was one of the world’s best and could challenge any team on his day.
At Manchester he looked a shadow of his former self. He encountered frequent nightmares at the Theatre of Dreams, despite being on a whopping £350,000-a-week deal.
Sanchez managed just three Premier League goals in 32 games for his new club. It would be one of many disastrous transfers for the Red Devils until a certain Portuguese midfielder came along last January.
Wilfried Bony | Swansea to Manchester City | £25 Million | 2015
Let’s not criticise the Ivorian. At Swansea he had established himself as a proven Premier League striker… but £25 Million to bring him to a squad with the likes of Sergio Agüero and Edin Džeko is just absurd.
No one really expected much of Bony, so why splash that much cash on your third choice striker, unless they bought him in to challenge Agüero?!
The Ivorian ended his brief City career with a disappointing 6 goals in 36 Premier League appearances.
Juan Cuadrado | Fiorentina to Chelsea | £23 Million | 2015
It may come as a surprise to see a former Premier League champion on this list, but it should be an even bigger surprise to find out that Cuadrado is a Premier League champion!
The Colombian never really got started at the Bridge as he failed to score a single goal in 13 Premier League matches. Another slice of poor business from the Blues.
When you think it can’t get any worst, it can. This horrific transfer saw Mo Salah loaned out to Fiorentina, making it the last we saw of the Egyptian in a Chelsea shirt.
