The ten worst Premier League signings of the season cost about £330m and have been disastrous
Chelsea feature prominently in a list of the worst Premier League signings of the season but that top three feels untouchable. Arsenal get a sort of mention.
10) Lesley Ugochukwu (Chelsea)
It is important to factor injuries into account, with Ugochukwu having been almost completely sidelined with a hamstring problem since December. But even long before that, the tone was set by Mauricio Pochettino calling the young midfielder “a player that is from France that maybe they are signing with the idea to send on some loan”.Ugochukwu was subsequently said to have sufficiently impressed the manager, forcing his way into the first-team picture. But his three Premier League starts delivered a goalless draw against Bournemouth, heavy defeat at Newcastle and a chastening loss to Wolves. Thierry Henry did not sound happy with Chelsea over his sparse use before the injury and it is easy to forget the Blues spent £23m for the most spare of parts.
9) Hamed Traore (Bournemouth)
Bournemouth spent a similar amount to make last January’s loan move for Traore permanent in May. It was quite impressive that, as the Cherries themselves put it, ‘conditions within the original loan agreement have been reached’ to hand Sassuolo £21m to keep the Ivorian, considering he failed to either score or assist a goal in seven appearances before missing the end of last season with an injury.Traore had long since recovered by the start of this campaign, which he spent either on the bench or out of the squad entirely. Across three substitute Premier League appearances he played 44 minutes – all in two-goal defeats – while enjoying some Carabao minutes and scoring against Swansea.
Once Bournemouth’s participation in that tournament was curtailed by eventual winners Liverpool, Traore was deemed surplus to requirements and found himself packing the essentials to head to Napoli to play Barcelona in a Champions League knockout game at the Nou Camp. He is yet to score or assist a goal in Italy.
8) Rob Holding (Crystal Palace)
It seemed bizarre that Arsenal could only extract £2m for an established Premier League centre-half in his mid-20s last summer, even if whatever reputation Holding carried was tarnished by his final run coinciding somewhat with a slight title bottling. The centre-half left with the Gunners’ best wishes and any essence of William Saliba he could find in the changing room.Having left for more regular opportunities, Holding would not have wanted to be stressing that “you have to be ready for the moments when you get chances” in October. He is still to make his Premier League debut for Palace, but did at least play for them in the League Cup: a 3-0 defeat to Man Utd in which he was booked for clattering Anthony Martial.
7) Ryan Giles (Luton Town)
Luton broke their transfer record three times in their first summer as a Premier League club. Mads Andersen has struggled with injury since, Tahith Chong has scored against Liverpool, Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Spurs and Giles has found himself back in another Championship promotion race.The wing-back started the first three games of the season but only two more thereafter, eventually losing out to another wide creative outlet in Alfie Doughty. Giles has played almost twice as many minutes in the Championship as he has in the Premier League, owing to his loan switch to Hull in January.
6) Moises Caicedo (Chelsea)
There has been an improvement in recent weeks and in truth the floor for Caicedo at Chelsea has never been low. But nor has he been the £115m panacea most perhaps unfairly expected to solve those midfield problems.Caicedo has been pulled down to a certain level rather than the future British record signing dragging his team up. That is no crime in a team as broken as Chelsea but this is a case where the fee demands to be judged instead of the player. And the midfielder Brighton sold for three times less last summer looks about ten times better.
READ MORE: Chelsea signings under Todd Boehly ranked from best to worst
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Moises Caicedo is given instructions from Mauricio Pochettino.
5) Matheus Nunes (Manchester City)
In one of his greatest head-patting pieces of praise for a team Manchester City had just thrashed, it was Pep Guardiola who called Nunes “one of the best players in the world today” after Sporting were hammered 5-0 at home in February 2022.About 18 months later, the manager admitted he perhaps “over-exaggerated a little bit”. Guardiola called him “an exceptional player” but the back-track betrayed his true feelings of someone stumbling through The First Pep Season.
Nunes has fared better than some adjusting to the necessary micro-managed reprogramming, but is yet to score and has started 13 games. It is a futile exercise to cite the fees Manchester City pay and can quite comfortably write off through transfer cheat codes, but £53m for a deeply ordinary player represents poor business thus far.
4) Ibrahim Sangare (Nottingham Forest)
There is a fundamental rift in the Nottingham Forest fanbase as the civil war between Sangare supporters and sceptics rages on. Some feel the midfielder has shown enough promising glimpses in a disrupted season to suggest he can eventually adapt, while others believe paying PSV £30m to remove him from a Champions League season should have guaranteed some degree of consistent competence.Then there is Evangelos Marinakis, who probably thinks the whole thing is a conspiracy which only Mark Clattenburg can uncover.
It has been a miserable old time either way for Sangare, who has been subbed at half-time in two of his unlucky 13 starts – by two different managers – and who has still won as many Eredivisie games as Premier League games this season. He has also played two Eredivisie games.
3) James Trafford (Burnley)
It does not feel as though Manchester City will be rushing to activate the £42m buy-back clause they inserted into the deal which saw Trafford join newly-promoted Burnley in the summer. The goalkeeper’s stock was at its highest then after a flawless U21 Euros and it was felt by many that a first Premier League season, guided by the prodigious coaching of Vincent Kompany, would only continue that inexorable rise.The opposite has come to pass; Trafford has been dropped for the player most felt had earned his top-flight chance by helping inspire promotion while he impressed in League One. In the two games since Aro Muric has recovered the gloves, Burnley have won one and drawn the other to reinvigorate their survival hopes.
Trafford should still come good and the experience ought to act in his favour long-term, exposing him to the unique pressure and pace of the top flight. But the mistakes have been numerous and Burnley’s most expensive signing of a mixed summer was one they never really had to make in the first place.
2) Kalvin Phillips (West Ham United)
It is difficult to envisage a timeline in which things could have gone much worse. Phillips assisted an opposition goal on his West Ham debut, gave the ball away in the build-up to an opposition goal in his second game, was substituted on at half-time of a 6-0 defeat in his third, sent off in his fourth, finally won in his fifth (as a late substitute), was taken off at half-time in his sixth and gave away a penalty in his seventh, after which he swore at a fan.It was assumed that Phillips had to escape Manchester City to rescue his career; he would have been better off putting up with a little more Guardiola snide while scrutinising tapes of Rodri and spooning a cardboard cut-out of Marcelo Bielsa.
1) Sandro Tonali (Newcastle United)
That debut against Aston Villa feels like a long time ago. Within a month of that, Eddie Howe was lecturing about the dangers of judging the effectiveness of signings too soon. A few later came a betting ban which will be served at least into late August by a player some suspect never wanted to join Newcastle in the first place.It has been a disaster, the sort the Magpies cannot afford in a FFP-specific way. And the future Manchester United director of football is entirely to blame.
The 7 teams that were top at this stage of the season & let it slip ft. Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea…
Liverpool are top of the Premier League with just nine games remaining – which is a good omen for Jurgen Klopp’s Reds, because the team at the summit at this stage has gone on to win the title in 17 of the last 20 seasons.
In fact, in the Premier League era, only once before have Liverpool been top of the Premier League at this exact stage – and that was when they went on to win the title at a canter back in 2019-20.
Inspired by the excellent work of Andrew Beasley (@BassTurnedToRed) on Twitter, we’ve taken a closer look at the few teams in the modern era that had their destiny in their hands with nine games remaining and didn’t go on to make it over the line.
Note: Aston Villa were top after 29 games in the inaugural 1992-93 season, but we haven’t included them as there were still 13 games remaining in that 42-game campaign.
Arsenal – 2022-23
Last season, Mikel Arteta’s Gunners set a record for days spent at the top of the Premier League (248) without winning the thing.
Arsenal went top in week three and barely let up until late May, when they lost 4-1 away to Manchester City with five games remaining. They ended up finishing five points behind Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering treble-winners, having lost three of their final six outings.
In fairness, Arsenal only finished six points shy of the legendary Invincibles’ 90-point tally in 2003-04, and they’ll do well to match that total this season. They were just unfortunate to come up against a relentless winning machine in City (Klopp’s Liverpool know that feeling all too well), who caught them by winning 12 successive league games from February to late May.
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READ: The 7 biggest Premier League title collapses to rival Arsenal in 2023
Chelsea – 2013-14
The 2013-14 Premier League season is best remembered for Steven Gerrard, Demba Ba, This Does Not Slip and all that – but Liverpool only went top, before falling away, later in that drama-filled campaign.
It’s forgotten now but it was actually Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea – cast as the arch spoilers that day at Anfield – that had the title in their hands with nine matches remaining. In fact, the Blues were top from mid-February to early April before falling away, ending up just two points off Liverpool and four points off the champions Manchester City.
Defeats to Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and finally Sunderland were the nails in the coffin of their title hopes. That summer they addressed their striker problem, signed Diego Costa and brought back Didier Drogba, and cruised to the title the following season.
Manchester United – 2011-12
Sir Alex Ferguson’s United had lost 6-1 to City earlier in the campaign, but there was a point in the spring where it looked like yet another title – a fifth in six years – would be a formality.
United did what they invariably did back then and put on the afterburners in the new year, dropping just two points in a run of 12 games while their city rivals faltered with dropped points against Everton, Swansea, Stoke, Sunderland and Arsenal.
But while Roberto Mancini’s men recovered to win their final six matches – including a fraught 1-0 home win over United in late April – United wobbled, losing at Wigan and drawing 4-4 at home to Everton before their decisive defeat at the Etihad.
They ended up losing the title on goal difference after Sergio Aguero’s injury-time winner against QPR. Surely we’ll never see things ever go right down to the wire like that ever again.
Arsenal – 2002-03
Arsenal had 63 points and a five-point advantage over United after 29 matches as they looked to retain their title in 2002-03.
But a 2-0 defeat at Blackburn in mid-March precipitated a title-costing wobble. The Gunners went on to drop points in four of their following six matches, with a 3-2 defeat at home to relegation-battling Leeds all but confirming their dream was over.
Wenger’s men recovered to win their final two matches with a 10-1 aggregate scoreline, but it was too little too late.
United took advantage, winning eight of their last nine and drawing at Arsenal. They finished five points clear – in a less-than-vintage era under Ferguson; their only title in a six-year stretch, and surprisingly the only one they won with Ruud van Nistelrooy.
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QUIZ: Can you name every club to win the English league title?
Manchester United – 2001-02
The Red Devils were rotten in the first half of the 2001-02 season. They sat fourth, behind Newcastle, Leeds and Liverpool on Christmas Day 2001 and from October to December went on an unthinkable run of one win and five defeats in seven games.
But in a league that lacked any great competition, they recovered to sit top of the table in mid-March after a run of 12 wins from 13 games.
Their problem was that Arsenal were also on the road to recovery, and actually had their destiny in their own hands; a point behind with a game in hand.
Arsenal never let up with one of the greatest runs in their history; a winning streak of their last 14 matches to end up champions, seven points clear of runners-up Liverpool and 10 clear of United in third. A Sylvain Wiltord match-winner in a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford on the penultimate weekend sealed it in style.
Manchester United – 1997-98
After 29 matches in 1997-98, United looked well on their way to yet another 90s title. They were nine points clear of closest challengers Liverpool, and while Arsenal had three games in hand they were far enough back – 11 points – for that not to be too big a concern.
Except, in hindsight, it should have been. They won those games in hand in an exceptional run of 11 straight victories (just two goals conceded) to announce Wenger as a serious threat to Ferguson.
The Gunners actually ended up losing their last two outings, including a 4-0 defeat at Anfield, but they’d already broken the back of it. United finished a point behind and paid the price for a 1-0 defeat at Highbury, as well as dropped points against Sheffield Wednesday, West Ham, Liverpool and Newcastle in the run-in.
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QUIZ: Can you name every player to score 10+ Premier League goals in 1997-98?
Newcastle United – 1995-96
Probably the most famous collapse of the Premier League era. At one point, Kevin Keegan’s Entertainers were famously 12 points clear of Manchester United.
They’d been reigned in for the run-in. That lead was cut to just one point after 29 matches, although the Magpies were still in a decent position with a game in hand over the chasers.
“I was scoring goals, Rob Lee was scoring goals, David Ginola was producing, but then we struggled,” Les Ferdinand told us.
“Keith Gillespie got injured and we had to shuffle round a little bit. Keegan wanted to get me and Tino Asprilla into the side together, which I felt made us a bit lop-sided and lost our threat.
“Every season, when teams are going for the title, there are pivotal games. Everyone looks at the Manchester United game (when Newcastle lost 1-0 at home), but I don’t think that was the one that lost us the title.
“For me it was the Liverpool game. Had we won, we’d have had momentum to start winning again, it would have lifted us mentally and physically, but it drained us.”
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Arsenal, Chelsea battle for top winger erupts with Barcelona to ‘cash in’; Tottenham fall behind in race
Arsenal and Chelsea have seen their hopes of landing Raphinha boosted, with Barcelona reportedly poised to sell him in the next transfer window.
Raphinha enjoyed a fantastic stint in England with Leeds United between October 2020 and July 2022. The winger, who mainly operates on the right flank, played a crucial role in Leeds avoiding relegation from the Premier League in the 2021-22 season.
Not only did Raphinha manage 11 goals and three assists in 35 league matches, but he also scored during the 2-1 victory over Brentford on the final day of the campaign, which saved Leeds’ top-flight status.
That summer, the Brazilian ace was heavily linked with a big summer transfer. Arsenal and Liverpool were both tipped to launch bids, though it was Chelsea who actually came closest to landing him.
But Chelsea’s hopes were dashed when Raphinha held out for a move to Barcelona, which came to fruition in July 2022.
Since then, Raphinha has registered 16 goals and 22 assists in 79 appearances for Barca. That includes six goals and 10 assists from 29 games so far this season.
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But rumours that Barca will have to sell the 27-year-old this summer are growing, with the La Liga giants needing to ease their tricky financial situation.
Related video: Pep Guardiola confident as side take on league leaders Arsenal (Daily Mail)
So guys numb, so important we have done it.
As per the latest from Football Insider, Barca president Joan Laporta will try to ‘cash in’ on Raphinha at the end of the season.
Arsenal, Chelsea back in for Raphinha
This represents a huge lift for Arsenal and Chelsea, with the two London clubs still eager to land him. They know that Raphinha can make a massive impact in the Premier League and feel he would be a great addition to their respective squads.
Tottenham are also interested in the former Rennes man, though reporter Pete O’Rourke states that they are already ‘well-stocked’ for wingers and may also struggle to meet his price tag.
Arsenal and Chelsea appear to be the English clubs leading the charge for Raphinha. Although, there is also a chance the player will leave Europe altogether.
Football Insider add that Saudi clubs hold concrete interest in Raphinha and are weighing up a gigantic £86million offer for him.
Barca would be more inclined to sell Raphinha to a Saudi team, as it is unlikely Arsenal or Chelsea will match that bid.
