The January transfer window is seen as both the worst and best time to buy players. There is rarely any good deals to be had, since most teams as loathe to lose their best players midseason. That being said, if you get the right deal or are willing to pay over the odds, it can be the shot in the arm a team may need. One just needs to look at our Best January Transfers list to see just what the right transfer can do. But sometimes, they go wrong. They go really, really wrong. Below is the flip side of that list. The worst bunch of overpaid, panic buys or marquee flops that have ever graced the EPL.
10. Ricardo Queresma – From Inter Milan to Chelsea on Loan
Ricardo Quersema is one of those weird stories because there was so much promise about him when he was younger. His transfer to Chelsea was hoped to be the spark he needed to kickstart his career, but only ended up playing five times and a total of 97 minutes.
9. Kim Kallstrom – From Spartak Moscow to Arsenal on Loan
Arsenal brought Kallstrom in to help bring steel and defensive solidarity to his team, that were currently competing for the league title. Unfortunately for Arsene Wenger, Kallstrom arrived injured and wasn’t fit to play for two months. By the time he could play, Arsenal were fighting for a top four finish instead of the title. Ended up only playing three times for Arsenal. Truly a baffling transfer.
8. Jean Alain Boumsong – From Rangers to Newcastle for £8m
Scottish club Rangers picked Boumsong up on a free transfer before selling him to Newcastle only five months later. Was atrocious in defense, making error after error. The transfer ended up being so bad, and the details behind the transfer so sketchy, that it was investigated for fraud.
7. Danny Graham – From Swansea to Sunderland for £5m
Danny Graham did well at Swansea, so it is understandable that another lower level club would go after him after he fell out of favor at Swansea. Martin O’Neil brought him to Sunderland to help shoulder the goal scoring burden but is currently on a 969 minute goalless streak.
6. Savio Nsereko – From Brescia to West Ham United for £9m
Was a completely unknown youngster when West Ham bought him in 2009. He was onlyy 19 at the time but was described as one fo the brightest young talents in the world by Gianfranco Zola, West Ham’s manager at the time. He only played 10 times for the club though, scoring a total of zero goals for the club. Moved to Fiorentina for 2m pounds shortly after arriving. Currently playing for FC Atyrau in Kazakhstan.
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