TOP 5 WORST FOOTBALL TRANSFERS IN ENGLISH FOOTBALL (EMPIREPREDICTIONS)

Over the years, the EPL has seen big-money transfers, with elite clubs like Chelsea, Man United, Man City and a couple of others contributing to the spending spree. The EPL is clearly the elite segment of English football, and it justifies its elitism through big-money transfers, dramatic on-pitch scenes, and acquisition of some of the best football coaches around.

Big-money transfers could be a great statement of intent, probably suggesting that clubs are ready to fire on all fronts, challenge for major trophies, or reach much-coveted milestones. Sadly however, such big spending sometimes spells “bad business” not only for football clubs, but also for the thousands of avid fans who must have expected the big spending to translate into spectacular on-pitch performances on the part of players.

With the EPL having seen both “good” and bad” transfers, it’s noteworthy that bad transfers can badly affect the financial standing of clubs. More often than not, an EPL club would be badly affected after splurging hundreds of millions of pounds signing a couple of players who came in with hefty wage demands, but only performed very poorly, failing to justify their hefty price tags and staggering wages.

Therefore, we’d like to discuss some of the footballers who cost their respective EPL clubs a fortune, only to end up with overall performances that shouldn’t justify their staggering price tags whatsoever. Here’s EmpirePredictions’ list of the top 5 worst football transfers in the English Premier League:

Mykhailo Mudryk

In 2023, Ukraine’s Mykhailo Mudryk completed a high-profile move from Shakhtar Donetsk to Chelsea. The move meant Chelsea had paid as much as £88.5 million for the signature of the Ukrainian. Honestly, and for many Chelsea supporters, the signing of Mudryk was expected to not only beef up Chelsea’s squad, but also help the team build a formidable attack.

At Shaktar Donetsk, Mudryk had consistently pulled stellar performances, which even seemed to be the reason why Arsenal –just like Chelsea –had shown interest in the Ukrainian. But it’s really unfortunate that the Ukrainian winger has not been able to justify the massive price Chelsea paid to acquire him.

Mudryk’s overall performance for Chelsea shows that the Ukrainian winger is unable to cope with the intensity of the EPL. While his decision making, especially in front of goal, has made him the butt of criticism, Mudryk is now facing a greater challenge off the pitch. He is said to have tested positive for an illegal substance and while investigation is still going on, there are suggestions that he could be slapped with a lengthy ban.

So far, Mudryk has been a perfect case of “business gone wrong” for Chelsea and for us at EmpirePredictions, he is the worst football transfer to the English Premier League. Nevertheless, Mudryk has about 6 years left on the 8-year contract he signed with Chelsea, and this means the Ukrainian winger has enough time to turn things around and justify the hefty price paid for his signature.

Jadon Sancho

Over the years, Manchester United have shown a high level of inconsistency which is in stark contrast to the consistency they demonstrated in the era of Sir Alex Ferguson. While “bad signings” are obviously part of Man United’s huge problem in the post-Ferguson era, Jadon Sancho is such a name that sticks out among the club’s worst signings.

Sancho was a sensational player at Borussia Dortmund and ahead of his move to Man United, many Man United supporters felt that his hefty £73 million price tag wasn’t excessive for a player who had performed excellently in the German Bundesliga.

However, Sancho turned out to be one of the high-performing players who came to the English Premier League only to actually flop. And what makes him one of the hotly discussed “bad signings” is his quarrel with former club coach Erik ten Hag. Following the coach’s decision to not play him, Sancho made a public statement, describing himself as a “scapegoat” –most probably the one taking the blame for the poor performance of the entire squad.

That statement appeared to even worsen the sour relationship between Sancho and the club coach. And because the English man himself couldn’t justify the huge price Man United had paid to acquire him, the decision to loan him to Chelsea seemed justifiable. Even at Chelsea, Sancho’s performance still could not match expectations, thereby discouraging the London club from making the loan deal permanent.

Sancho, who is now on loan at Aston Villa, has failed to live up to his parent club (Man United)’s expectations for a signing worth £73 million. The fact that he is entitled to hefty wages further makes him an evident case of wrong business for the club. At EmpirePredictions, we consider him the second worst signing in English football.

Jack Grealish

Jack Grealish is one man The Cityzens paid massively to acquire; at the time of writing this post, he remains Man City’s most expensive signing. It is, in fact, noteworthy that at the time he was acquired from Aston Villa in 2021, his price tag of £100 million made him the British record transfer. But it’s a huge disappointment that the English winger has failed to replicate his startling Aston Villa stint at Manchester City.

Although some observers have claimed that the Guardiola-built system at Man City required Grealish to play in a different style from how he played at Aston Villa, it is very obvious that Grealish’s sporting performance at Man City has fallen short of expectations. Analysts have also argued that Grealish was able to play the role of “control winger” which Pep Guardiola required of him, but the fact that his current performance stats for Man City do not justify the £100 million spending means The Cityzens paid too much for his signature.

Looking away from Grealish’s achievements (three EPL titles, one UCL trophy, and a couple of other trophies) with Man City, it’s evident that the English man looks like a dispensable figure in Guardiola’s squad. He didn’t seem to have any significant impact on the team’s match-winning form which yielded those trophies. It’s unsurprising that Grealish is now on loan at Everton, as it’s a common practice for clubs to send out their underperforming players on loan.

Grealish’s performance stats for Man City do not seem spectacular yet, and the fact that he is currently on loan further makes him a signing that doesn’t justify the £100 million price tag.

Darwin Nunez

Darwin Nunez was Liverpool’s record signing at the time he was acquired from Benfica. Anyone seeing Nunez’s performance stats for the Primeira Liga club ahead of the Liverpool move might take him  to be a striker who would not only boost Liverpool’s attack, but also achieve an impressive goal tally.

At Liverpool, Nunez demonstrated exciting moves and brilliant pace, but never showed the sorts of decision making and consistent finishing that would have made him a lethal forward for the club. Meanwhile, the Uruguayan didn’t appear to be short of service; he did get the ball very often from his teammates.

Painfully, however, he missed “golden” chances more often than he converted them, and his performance stats for Liverpool clearly show that he never justified the huge price tag –to the tune of £85 million –the club had paid to acquire him. While Liverpool has been able to get the underperforming Uruguayan off their squad, it’s really unfortunate that Nunez flopped so badly despite having been tipped to be Liverpool’s version of Man City’s Erling Haaland.

Nicolas Pepe

Arsenal paid as much as £72 million for the signature of Nicolas Pepe who was the club’s record signing at the time of acquiring him. In point of fact, Pepe at Arsenal was one of the high-profile buys who, instead of leading their respective teams, only gave flashes of brilliance, thereby failing to measure up to what had been paid for their acquisition.

During his Arsenal stint, the Ivorian forward was far from consistent. His inconsistency even made many Arsenal fans question if their club actually signed the same Pepe they had watched playing for Ligue 1 club Lille.

Conclusion

While it’s possible for an ardent follower of the English Premier League to have their own list of the top 5 worst EPL transfers reflecting names other than the ones we mentioned, we mustn’t shy away from the truth: none of the players in our list were –or have been –able to justify the mouthwatering transfer fees their clubs splashed on them.

Mudryk to Chelsea has been an unworthy piece of business; Sancho to Man United remains a business nightmare; Grealish to Man City plucked too much money off the Arabs; Nunez to Liverpool is nothing short of “money down the drain,” and Pepe to Arsenal is a perfect example of spending big towards the wrong end.

For football clubs, it can be financially devastating to sign a player for a record fee only for the player to perform far below expectations, and to the thousands of fans who had hoped that the player would hit the ground running, it could be completely heartbreaking.