5. Afonso Alves – From Heerenveen to Middlesbrough for £12m
Alves was bought to be the player that kept Middlesbrough up in the EPL. His form in the Dutch leagues was absolutely scintillating, scoring an incredible 45 goals in 39 games. His tally at Middlesbrough? 10 goals in 42 games. A year later, he transferred to Al Sadd in Qatar.
4. Chris Samba – From Anzhi Makhachkala to Queens Park Rangers for £12.5m
Arrived at QPR completely unfit and that led to a series of bad performances. This quote from Anzhi Makhachkala’s director, German Tkachenko, says it all. “When [QPR] agreed to pay [Samba’s] release fee, we wept and [Samba] wept… In my view Queens Park Rangers have lost their minds.”
3. Benni McCarthy – From Blackburn Rovers to West Ham for £2.5m
McCarthy had trouble with weight while at West Ham and was later described as a “big fat mistake” by West Ham’s vice-chairman, Karen Brady. His contract was cancelled with the club with a full 14 months remaining, costing West Ham an additional 1.5m pounds.
2. Andy Carroll – From Newcastle to Liverpool for £35m
Transferred to Liverpool from Newcastle for the price of Torres minus 15m pounds. That was literally the equation they used to find a number to offer. Ultimately had trouble under the price tag and didn’t fit into Brendan Rodgers’ style of play. Performed really well at times, though, and is finding his feet at West Ham United. When he can stay fit.
1. Fernando Torres – From Liverpool to Chelsea for £50m
Could there have been anybody else? When this transfer first happened, it seemed like a sure thing for Chelsea. Months later, he’d be considered a walking joke of a player. It’s nice to see him recapturing his form in Spain now.
