Who were the 10 worst PL signings this season?
 |
| Image from 90min |
10. Takumi Minamino to Liverpool
A lot of hype surrounded Minamino after the way Red Bull Salzburg started the season and especially after the close calls with Liverpool in the Champions League. Minamino's £7m fee was agreed in December and Minamino signed as soon as the Transfer Window opened in January. He was always expected to be a depth player to start the cup games and make an impact off the bench but he has barely even done that. Since January he has made a meagre seven appearances for Liverpool from the 16 matches Liverpool have played since his arrival and have only actually played 329 minutes since joining. He has barely played and when he has, he has not made an impact. But he is still 25 which, while not as young as some of the players on this list, means he has plenty of time to show the form he was showing in the Austrian League and the fact he only moved for £7m means even if he just adds depth, he is still a decent purchase.
9. Moise Kean to Everton
Moise Kean was supposed to hit the ground running as a promising young player with a very good goalscoring ratio of eight goals in 21 apps for Juventus and two in three matches for the Italian senior team as well. Having moved for £23.5m from Turin, Everton hoped for him to be an instant success but it has not quite worked. He fell down the pecking order with Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin outshining him and he spent most of the season coming off the bench. Despite this he has made 26 appearances this season but only scored once and it took till January to do so. He has had 'attitude problems' as he fell out with Duncan Ferguson and has broken the lockdown more recently. He has struggled for form and that has probably caused a lot of frustration as he was doing so well for Juventus at such a young age. I don't doubt he needed a transitional season before he settles down, it's just whether Everton has the patience for him.
8. Che Adams to Southampton
Che Adams moved from Birmingham City in the 2019 Summer for a fee of £15m and claimed he wanted to win the title with Southampton. After a 22 goal season in the Championship in the 2018/19 season, big things were expected but he has yet to score for the Saints in 27 appearances in all competitions and has fallen down the pecking order but remains in Ralf Hasenhuttl's plans. He had been courted by Leeds in January and Southampton rejected three offers. He is only the tenth worst signing because he is a young player (23) and there is often an acclimatisation period to the Premier League and he only moved for £15m.
7. Alex Iwobi to Everton
There has always been debate over Alex Iwobi's talent but his stats for Arsenal show he is a promising talent having forced himself into the first team in the 2015/16 season (aged 18) and in the four seasons he had at the Emirates he made 149 appearances, scoring 15 and setting up 27 more. He decided to leave Arsenal for more game time and at Everton, he expected just that after a £27m move last summer. However it seems this was not the best idea as Iwobi has only featured 22 times this season
6. Patrick Cutrone to Wolverhampton Wanderers
Another player with a lot of promise as he had scored 27 goals and set up 8 more in 90 appearances for AC Milan and so a move to the Premier League seemed on the cards and for a 22 year old to move from Milan for £16m, it seemed a steal. However, three goals in 27 appearances demonstrates he did not transfer his form for Milan to Wolves and he left in January for Fiorentina on an 18 month loan deal which seems like Wolves don't even want him back. He seems a promising player and perhaps will shine in Italy but was not ready for the Premier League yet.
5. Roberto Jimenez to West Ham United
With Fabianski's excellent season displacing Adrian in the 2018/19 season and the Spaniard moving to Liverpool on a free transfer, West Ham signed Roberto on a free transfer after only making six appearances for Espanyol the season before. After 10 woeful appearances for West Ham due to Fabianski's injury, West Ham displaced him with Dean Martin before Fabianski's return and sending Roberto on loan to Alaves but he has failed to make an appearance so far. He was so bad for West Ham they dropped him and loaned him out but is only fifth on the list as he did join on a free.
4. Danny Drinkwater to Burnley (and Aston Villa)
He really has never been the same since his move to Chelsea in 2017 in which he only made 23 appearances for the Blues in two years at the club. While he is still at Chelsea, he was loaned to Burnley this summer in an attempt to regain his best form but issues off the pitch following an altercation outside a club amongst other things forced Sean Dyche into terminating his loan deal in January. Dean Smith decided however to accept Drinkwater at Aston Villa but similar problems occurred as he initiated a headbutt against Jota in training and was removed from training and fined.
He simply has not worked but because he is a loanee and cost neither Burnley nor Villa a huge transfer fee, he is only fourth.
3. Tanguy Ndombele to Tottenham Hotspur
A lot of hype surrounded Ndombele over the course of the 2019 summer with Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and of course, Spurs interested in signing the Frenchman but Spurs got the deal done for £58m. At first, Ndombele looked very sharp and winning the ball in good positions and playing good forward passes but he declined as the season progressed and he was used more often due to injuries and squad departures. On Sky Sports, his 'laziness' and lack of movement was highlighted strongly as Tottenham's form dropped off a cliff and it became clear that Jose Mourinho didn't fancy the former Lyon midfielder. Reports suggest that Ndombele could leave Spurs in the summer but honestly, he reminds me of Fred and I think he could shine next season if he has the right mentality. Nonetheless, he has been a flop so far and for the price Spurs paid, it's not good enough yet.
2. Nicolas Pepe to Arsenal
Pepe was another player with a lot of hype surrounding his transfer with Manchester United, Spurs and Borussia Dortmund looking at Pepe but he signed for Arsenal for a club record £72m fee. While the hype surrounding him was high, his actual form was severely low for the majority of the season as it took till December for Pepe to score a goal from open play with three set piece goals (2 freekicks and 1 penalty). He has shown that he lacks confidence to take shots and drive at players with his pace which is obviously a problem for a winger and has been benched at times and not even selected due to poor form. Why only second you may ask? He has shown signs of development under Mikel Arteta and again, players do need an adjustment period when entering the Premier League, especially from the French League as the aggression and competitiveness is much higher. He could be a vital player for Arsenal should Aubameyang leave as Arteta will rely on him to score goals and tee up Lacazette, who will also need to improve.
1. Joelinton to Newcastle
Undeniably the worst Premier League signing of the season. £40m move from Hoffenheim in the summer was supposed to be Newcastle's big money replacement for the vital goals from Salomon Rondon and Ayoze Perez, who both departed from the club that window. He scored one Premier League goal and two FA Cup goals in 29 appearances this season and honestly he has not done much off the ball to deserve any kind of praise. He isn't the pressing machine Firmino is claimed to be and he does not hold the ball up well enough to warrant the kind of praise Giroud recieves and both players have got far better goal returns than Joelinton this season. He could be pushed out or fight for his place but honestly I don't know where he stands.
Disagree with the list? Comment below with who you think were the top 10 worst signings this season...
Comments
Post a Comment