Michael Owen – Real Madrid to Newcastle, 2005 (£16.8m)
With Owen desperate to return to England and both Liverpool and Everton put off by Real Madrid’s asking price, the road was clear for the Magpies to swoop.
A crowd of 20,000 fans gathered at St James’ Park to welcome the England international – but they would end up disappointed, as Owen failed to fulfil expectations. He played only 14 times in his first two seasons in the north-east, before netting eight goals in 2008/09 when Newcastle were relegated to the Championship.
Radamel Falcao – Monaco to Man United, 2014 (£6m)
Having being so prolific at Porto and Atletico Madrid, it was anticipated that Falcao would thrive alongside Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney in United’s fearsome frontline.
As it transpired, the Colombian mirrored United's form under Louis van Gaal by labouring through the season; although he did muster four assists, a return of as many goals from 29 appearances was well below expectations.
Predictably, his loan move wasn't turned permanent. Instead he struggled at Chelsea the following season, before returning to Monaco.
Fernando Torres – Liverpool to Chelsea, 2011 (£51.5m)
Torres was already suffering from injury and confidence issues during the latter stages of his time at Anfield, and they would only get worse following his move to Chelsea.
The striker immediately went on a 903-minute goal drought which lasted two months, finally ending it against West Ham – his only goal of that campaign. As if that wasn’t enough, his struggles continued in subsequent seasons.
His time in London was unsuccessful personally, if not collectively: the Spaniard only scored 45 times in 172 appearances but managed to pick up FA Cup, Champions League and Europa League medals with the Blues.
Papy Djilobodji – Nantes to Chelsea, 2015 (£3m)
A deal which confirmed things were unravelling in Jose Mourinho’s final season at Stamford Bridge, Djilobodji was never going to last long as a Chelsea player.
Signed (in what felt like protest) from Nantes on deadline day in September 2015, the centre-back’s only appearance for the club came against Walsall in the League Cup, when he replaced Radamel Falcao in second-half stoppage time. Unsurprisingly, he'd been farmed out on loan to Werder Bremen by January.
Joleon Lescott – West Brom to Aston Villa, 2015 (£1m)
Lescott’s £1m transfer fee hardly bankrupted Villa, but the former Everton and Manchester City centre-back was a disappointment in Birmingham. It didn’t help that the Villans were generally dire in 2015/16, although Lescott did little to boost their survival chances with his performances.
The nadir came away from the pitch, though: after receiving flak from fans following a 6-0 defeat by Liverpool, Lescott tweeted a picture of a luxury car to his followers, before making things worse by claiming the message had been sent inadvertently while his phone was in his pocket. Nice try, Joleon.
Maicon – Inter to Man City, 2012 (£3m)
A winner of four Serie A titles, the Champions League and two Copas America, Manchester City fans were entitled to be excited by the signing of Maicon in 2012. Granted, the former Inter full-back was 31 by that stage, but it was widely presumed that he still had a part to play as Roberto Mancini’s men set about defending their Premier League title.
Injury and poor form contributed to a frustrating half-season for the Brazilian, though, and he made just four Premier League starts before joining Roma in January.
Andy Carroll – Newcastle to Liverpool, 2011 (£35m)
After impressing with boyhood club Newcastle, Liverpool purchased Carroll on deadline day in January 2011 and gave him the No.9 shirt vacated by Fernando Torres. Injury delayed his debut, and thereafter a mixture of poor form and time in the treatment room blighted his spell at Anfield.
The towering striker only managed 11 goals in two-and-a-half seasons, and two games into the 2012/13 season he was shipped out on loan to West Ham – a move which later became permanent. At least Luis Suarez, signed on the same day, was a success on Merseyside.
Afonso Alves – Heerenveen to Middlesbrough, 2008 (£10m)
With Middlesbrough struggling in their 2008 relegation battle, the club had a simple solution – turn to Brazil international Alves, who’d averaged more than a goal per game during his time in the Eredivisie. On paper, it looked like an astute move. On the pitch, however, it quickly turned into a nightmare.
Alves struggled to adapt to the rigours of the English game, and while Boro staved off relegation, he scored just four times in 31 league appearances the following season as they failed to beat the drop. Perhaps a more conventional unveiling would have made all the difference.
Eric Djemba-Djemba – Man United to Aston Villa, 2005 (£1.5m)
“So good they named him twice,” was Manchester United fans' generous appraisal of the Cameroon international.
Djemba-Djemba, however, was actually rather bad, and demonstrated as much in his 20 Premier League appearances for the Red Devils. Yet that didn’t stop Villa signing him in January 2005.
David O'Leary presumably hoped the Cameroonian could somehow improve under his stewardship, but it wasn't to be: Djemba-Djemba struggled to break into the first team and, after just 11 outings, was shipped off to Burnley on loan before his contract was terminated in the summer of 2007.
Kostas Mitroglou, Olympiakos to Fulham, 2014 (£12m)
Fulham broke their transfer record to capture Mitroglou from Olympiakos for £12m in January 2014.The striker arrived with a healthy reputation having scored 81 goals in 182 games for the Greek club, but he was unable to transfer his form to English soil.
Indeed, Mitroglou failed to score in any of his three appearances for the Cottagers, with fitness problems preventing him from taking to the field more often. Fulham were relegated at the end of the season, when the forward hot-footed it back to Olympiakos on loan.
Paul Konchesky – Fulham to Liverpool, 2010 (£3.5m)
Left-back has been a problem position for Liverpool in the last few years, but few of those who assumed the role have been as out of their depth as Konchesky.
Signed by Roy Hodgson – who the defender had worked with at Fulham – in summer 2010, Konchesky failed to impress in his 18 appearances for the Reds and was duly sent packing to Championship club Nottingham Forest on loan in the January transfer window.
Chris Samba – Anzhi Makhachkala to QPR, 2013 (£12.5m)
With QPR struggling in the Premier League, Harry Redknapp turned to Samba in a bid to help them secure survival.
After all, the centre-back had proved himself as one of the division's most fearsome stoppers during his time with Blackburn Rovers, but his reported £100,000-a-week pay packet raised more than a few eyebrows in west London.
Samba struggled to replicate his Blackburn form at Loftus Road; 10 appearances and six months later, and with QPR now in the second tier, he was sold back to Anzhi for £12m.
Xisco – Deportivo La Coruna to Newcastle, 2008 (£5.7m)
Newcastle already had six strikers on the books when they signed Xisco in 2008, but the youngster’s performances in La Liga and for the Spain Under-21 side persuaded the Magpies to push through a deal.
Yet competition for places proved too much and, after Newcastle were relegated, the forward was loaned out to Racing Santander.
Returning the following year, he once again failed to force himself into first-team plans, and in January 2010 went back to former club Deportivo on loan. Xisco made only nine appearances for Newcastle, scoring just once, before his contract was eventually terminated in January 2013.
Andre Santos – Fenerbahce to Arsenal, 2011 (£6.2m)
When Arsene Wenger brought Andre Santos to north London, he may have thought he was getting a Brazilian full-back in the mould of Roberto Carlos or Dani Alves. But he’d have been wrong. Very wrong.
The former Fenerbahce man failed to make an impression in the Premier League, appearing in just 23 league games in 18 months and attracting criticism from Arsenal supporters – never more so than when he attempted to swap shirts with former Gunner Robin van Persie at half-time of a game against Manchester United.
Robinho – Real Madrid to Man City, 2008 (£32.5m)
“On the last day [of the transfer window], Chelsea made a great proposal and I accepted,” Robinho told reporters in September 2008, immediately endearing himself to new employers Manchester City.
Perhaps things would have worked out better for the Brazilian in the capital, because his time at the Etihad Stadium didn’t go to plan. Robinho started strongly, scoring 12 goals in his first 19 matches, but his second season at the club was forgettable: injuries and average performances saw him drop down the pecking order, and City loaned him to Santos in January.
Benni McCarthy – Blackburn to West Ham, 2010 (£2.3m)
McCarthy had plundered 52 goals in 140 matches at Blackburn, having previously been prolific as a Champions League winner with Porto. To be fair to West Ham, then, they probably thought they were getting a very capable striker in February 2010.
But things didn’t go to plan. The Hammers opted to part ways with McCarthy just 14 months into a two-and-a-half year contract, paying him £1.5m to end the contract early. The reason? A record of 13 games, zero goals and countless hours on the treatment table.
Hossam Ghaly – Feyenoord to Tottenham, 2006 (£2.7m)
Tottenham reportedly beat north London rivals Arsenal to Ghaly’s signature in 2006, but in hindsight this was one race they probably would have preferred to lose.
The midfielder played just 21 top-flight games for Spurs in his three years at White Hart Lane, one of which ended with the club’s fans politely informing him that he wasn’t “fit to wear the shirt”. The incident came in a clash with Blackburn, when Ghaly reacted to being substituted by taking off his top and slinging it on the ground. Touchy.
Javier Mascherano – Corinthians to West Ham, 2006 (Undisc.)
One of the strangest transfers of all time occurred on deadline day in 2006, when highly-rated Argentine prospects Carlos Tevez and Mascherano rocked up at Upton Park.
Whereas Tevez’s seven goals and all-round performances helped keep the Hammers in the top flight, Mascherano struggled to make an impact. Stuck behind Hayden Mullins and Nigel Reo-Coker in the pecking order, the midfielder started just three games in the Premier League and left for Liverpool in January.
Andy van der Meyde – Inter to Everton, 2005 (£8m)
As Everton boss David Moyes sought to strengthen his squad for another top-four challenge in 2005/06, former Ajax and Inter man Van der Meyde looked like the ideal acquisition.
However, the winger made only 10 Premier League appearances in his debut season, followed by eight in 2006/07, zero in 2007/08 and two in 2008/09. It later emerged that alcohol and personal problems had dogged the Dutchman’s career at Goodison Park.
Bryan Ruiz – Twente to Fulham, 2011 (£10.8m)
It took Ruiz six games to open his account for Fulham, but the support striker wasn’t even unable to maintain that ratio going forward. It’s fair to say the Cottagers expected rather more than two goals in 29 league outings after splurging almost £11m on the Costa Rican in August 2011.
Although Ruiz doubled his tally in 2012/13, he still underwhelmed as Fulham secured a 12th-place finish in the Premier League. After a loan spell at PSV, he returned to play 29 times for the west Londoners in the Championship.
