As the richest and most prestigious division of world football, the Premier League has never struggled to attract the most gifted footballers on the planet.
Maestros such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Eden Hazard have all arrived in the Premier League since its inception in 1992, leaving behind lasting legacies, adoring fan clubs and a litany of memorable moments.
However, there have been more than a few mistakes over the years. The Premier League doesn’t always boast the best in the division, with many having ended up shockingly out of their depth when trying to make a name for themselves in England’s top flight.
90 minutes ranks the unlucky ten worst players Premier League story – nothing personal guys.
Sean Dundee had scored 61 times in the Bundesliga before his arrival Liverpoola record that has filled the club’s fans with hope that they may be able to deliver at least a fraction of that number on Merseyside.
The South African-born striker was only recruited as a back-up option, but his impressive displays with Karlsruhe failed to translate to the Premier League.
Dundee made three meager league appearances without a goal for the Reds before returning to Germany for £1m in the summer following his signing. Considering Liverpool bought him for £2m, it wasn’t great.
Jozy Altidore’s first spell in the Premier League has been extremely emotional. A season-long loan spell with Hull City resulted in a solitary goal in 28 outings while leading the line as the Tigers dropped to the Championship. Unsurprisingly, they passed on the chance to sign the American permanently.
Altidore’s horror spell with Hull was seemingly forgotten several years later as Sunderland snapped up the hulking striker after rebuilding his career in Holland with AZ Alkmaar.
The Premier League proved a step too far for Altidore once again, however, with one goal in 42 appearances between 2013 and 2015. Two strikes in a collective 70 outings is unfortunately as bad as it gets for a centre-forward.
Speaking of ill-intentioned and uninspired Premier League strikers, enter Bosko Balaban. The Croatian made a slow start to his career in his homeland, but two fruitful seasons with Rijeka and then Dinamo Zagreb caught Aston Villahis eye.
It’s fair to say that Villa’s eyes were quickly blinded by the prodigal centre-forward, who managed a large number of clean sheets in eight appearances for the Midlands outfit.
The £5.8m signing eventually left on a free transfer to Club Brugge and has since blamed Villa for not giving him a proper chance to find some form.
Portugal’s Vitoria de Guimaraes made a quick profit on Bebe. Signing him on a free transfer saw him leave just over a month later without playing a competitive game for the club. Manchester United paid the £7.8m needed to bring in the striker.
Portugal has been a popular hunting ground for Man Utd in previous years, but Bebe has failed to reach the same levels as Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani. He made just two Premier League appearances for the Red Devils before being shipped out on several loan spells abroad.
Four years after his arrival, Bebe finally left Old Trafford having barely donned a red shirt, with Benfica putting the winger out of his misery.
Manchester United have been renowned for their impressive success rate in the transfer market under Alex Ferguson, but have made several shock signings on the Scot’s watch. This has been expected for nearly three decades.
Eric Djemba-Djemba – who, unlike Jay-Jay Okocha, was not so good as to be named twice – arrived at Old Trafford in 2003 after a successful spell with Nantes. The Cameroonian midfielder quickly became known for his overly physical approach, but failed to combine this with the necessary ability to thrive in Manchester.
20 Premier League appearances later and Djemba-Djemba was given a second shot at Aston Villa, but his spell at Villa Park was arguably even worse as he was sold just two years after his arrival.
Christian Poulsen represents Liverpool’s darkest days in the Premier League era. Roy Hodgson’s dismal and short spell with the Reds was littered with poor signings, but even Joe Cole, Milan Jovanovic and Danny Wilson fared better than the Dane.
The midfielder, who quickly established himself as an uninspiring and technically questionable option in the engine room, would make just 12 Premier League appearances for the Reds before being sold to Evian the following summer.
It was £4.5m for Liverpool, who could not get the best out of the 92-cap Denmark international. He did little to help himself on Merseyside.
Being nicknamed ‘The Blind Venetian’ as a goalkeeper is not particularly encouraging. Such is the fate of Italian stopper Massimo Taibi during his mistake-hit and hopeless spell with Man Utd in the Premier League.
Signed to replace the injured Mark Bosnich in 1999, Taibi did little to reassure Man Utd fans of his quality, making just four appearances for the Red Devils and a few blunders. Most famously, he let a tame effort from Matt Le Tissier roll to his feet during the 3-3 draw with Southampton.
Unsurprisingly, Taibi was loaned out just six months after arriving for £4.5m. He would never play for Man Utd again.
Milton Nunez to Sunderland may be one of the strangest signings in Premier League history. Signed by then Black Cats boss Peter Reid, the Honduran striker claimed that Sunderland actually wanted to sign fellow countryman and fellow PAOK striker Adolfo Valencia but accidentally bought him by mistake.
This theory is somewhat supported by the fact that Nunez made just one Premier League appearance for Sunderland, which lasted 15 minutes. £1.6m well spent, right?
There can’t be many transfers more disastrous than this one, with Nunez spending most of his career in Honduras.
Savio Nsereko didn’t pull up many trees before his arrival at West Ham United. He had scored just three goals for Brescia in 25 appearances, but that was apparently enough for the Irons to spend around £9million on the Ugandan-born forward.
The youngster’s promising form in Italy was not repeated in London, however, with Savio staying just six months at West Ham before being shipped out to Fiorentina on a permanent deal.
Ten Premier League appearances have been goalless and some confusing West Ham fans, who struggled to see the potential that the club’s recruiting staff had apparently seen.
On this day in 1996, Ali Dia made his one and only appearance for Southampton’s first team. pic.twitter.com/AKxaX9TBEN
— 90s Football (@90sfootball) November 23, 2024
Undoubtedly the The most famous transfer in Premier League history, there is no doubt that Ali Dia’s position is the worst the division has seen.
Signed from Southampton in 1996, the Senegalese forward was recruited by the Saints due to a prank call received by then manager Graeme Souness. Believing he was talking to former Ballon d’Or winner George Weah – surprise, surprise, he wasn’t – who claimed to be Dia’s cousin, the Scot was convinced to take a chance on the striker.
Having played for amateur club Blyth Spartans at the time, Dia was offered a month’s trial and turned out for his only Premier League appearance in a 2–0 win over Leeds United before being released two weeks later.
Quite embarrassing for all concerned.
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