The 2014-15 season saw a lot of money change hands in the Premier League as Chelsea, Man United and Liverpool tried to upend Manchester City. With all of those clubs along with Arsenal and Tottenham looking to spend as much or more in an effort to win it all in 2015-16, it’s worth taking a look at which clubs were royally ruined (literally) in their bids to land top talents.
Here are the ten worst value signings from the Premier League (statistics received from The Daily Mail):
10. Remy Cabella, Newcastle £12m from Montpellier, £60,000 per week
For a small club like Newcastle United, £12 million is a lot of money to burn, but when it’s burned on an attacking midfielder coming off a 14-goal season it seems like a good enough investment. Sadly, it didn’t pay off for the club as Cabella recorded just 1 goal and 2 assists all season and made only 21 starts.
9. Jack Rodwell, Sunderland - £10m from Manchester City, £64,000 per week
A relatively minor defensive piece for Man City in their 2013-14 Premier League championship run, Sunderland management thought they saw enough to make Rodwell an offer the former champs would be fools to refuse. It turns out Sunderland were the fools as Rodwell scored just made just 3 goals and 17 starts all season.
8. Juan Cuadrado, Chelsea - £26.8m, from Fiorentina, £85,000 per week
The fact that Chelsea were able to dominate the Premier League in spite of flops like Cuadrado is a testament to Jose Mourinho’s talent evaluation and training. A post-January signing by Mourinho, Cuadrado made 12 appearances and 4 starts while making just 7 shots. In his previous three seasons with Fiorentina, Cuadrado had recorded 20 goals from the winger position.
7. Dejan Lovren, Liverpool - £20m from Southampton, £70,000 per week
Money well wasted if that was Brendan Rodgers’ intention. Multiple mistakes that directly lead to goals along with no contributions to Liverpool’s goal total spelled doom for the club as they finished 6th on the table.
6. Mario Balotelli, Liverpool - £16m from AC Milan, £90,000 per week
Coming off back-t0-back 12+ goal seasons with AC Milan and a Premier League title with Man City back in 2012, the 24-year-old Balotelli was seen as a potential steal and someone who could bring some serious firepower to Anfield. Instead the Reds got 1 goal and just 10 starts from the Italian striker.
5. Luke Shaw, Man United - £30m from Southampton, £90,000 per week
Thirty million is a lot to invest in an 18-year-old defender who is far from a finished product, and it showed in year one as Shaw was given just 15 starts. Though he won over 80% of his tackles, the star student of Man United gave himself a C-minus for his performance this past year.
4. Radamel Falcao, Man United - £6m loan from Monaco, Reported wages: £280,000 per week
Two years removed from a four-year streak of 30+ goals made the loan look like the ultimate steal. Instead Monaco stole Man United’s money as Falcao made just 14 starts and four goals along with 4 assists. With only 29 shots taken all year as a striker, Falcao earned the equivalent of £100,000 per shot.
3. Eliaquim Mangala, Man City - £42m from Porto, £100,000 per week
The initially reported £32m would have been a bit much, but £42m borders on criminal. The most expensive defender in British football, Mangala made 24 starts but little impact for Man City as the team was toppled from its throne and finished 2nd in the Premier League. With no goals, 2 assists and just 11 shots all season, Mangala is easily one of the most expensive flops of the season.
2. Filipe Luis, Chelsea - £16m from Atletico Madrid, £75,000 per week
Not even Jose Mourinho in all of his genius could have forseen what a mistake this Caitlyn Jenner lookalike would be, making just 15 appearances and 9 starts while tacking on 3 shots (no goals) all season. At the £16 million price tag Mourinho spent for Luis, the Blues essentially paid over a million per start and over five million per shot.
1. Angel Di Maria, Man United - £60m from Real Madrid, £200,000 per week
Mistakes like this are why Man United finished in a rather distant 4th on the Premier League table. In one of the biggest transfers in football history, Man United acquired Di Maria only to see him score 3 goals and record 10 assists on 39 shots in 27 appearances (with just 20 starts). No wonder Di Maria is rumored to be on the market….
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