5 expensive summer signings who are still on the bench

Several of the big clubs spent huge sums of money to strengthen their squads in the summer. The likes of Manchester United, Manchester City had a disappointing season last time out and needed to bring in reinforcements.

Real Madrid surprisingly weren't one of the headliners of the summer transfer window only recruiting Alvaro Morata from Juventus. Their primary La Liga rivals Barcelona were the busier of the two investing a lot during the window.

But some of these big money signings are still spending time on the bench and haven’t really made their mark in the squad. They were expected to slot right into the starting XI or at least play an important part at the start of the season.

5) Michy Batshuayi

Antonio Conte made headlines after being appointed as Chelsea boss in the summer. The Italian made his mark with Juventus by winning three successive titles with the Turin giants, even going one of those seasons unbeaten.

He revolutionized the formation of the that team with his 3-5-2 system which worked well even with the Italian national side. So everyone felt he would do the same with Chelsea when he took over but injuries and a lack of knowledge about the league meant he has played it safe in his first few games.

The recruitment of Michy Batshuayi was probably with the intent of playing that formation but so far Diego Costa’s form has kept him out of the side. Conte has also preferred to go with only one striker up top.

To his credit, he has got on the scoresheet when he has come off the bench and looks like a good signing but he did not expect to be spending so much time on the sidelines. The Blues spent €38 million on the striker and maybe he should be starting more often.

But as long as Diego Costa’s form doesn’t wade the Belgian will have to make do with starts in other competitions like the League cup and FA Cup.

4) Alvaro Morata

Real Madrid have not gone overboard with their summer spend this season but the one signing they did make in Alvaro Morata has still not found his feet at the Bernabeu. Morata re-signed with the club he grew up at with a point to prove.

During his two-year spell at Juventus, he was very impressive in his performances but only managed 15 goals in 63 league appearances in Serie A. Last season, his strike partner Paulo Dybala grabbed most of the headlines.

So it was very confusing as to why Real Madrid decided to resign him given the firepower they already possessed. Morata has started the odd game or two when Karim Benzema hasn’t been available.

But these days he still spends most of his time on the bench. €30Million might seem like a bargain at first but considering his statistics in the last few seasons the fee seems to be a little over the top.

He was linked with moves of over €60million to the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal and that would really have been a brilliant piece of business for Juve but considering they still got a decent fee for the return he’s managed they won’t complain.

3) Leroy Sane

Leroy Sane proclaimed by many to be the next big thing moved for a very big transfer fee to Manchester City from Schalke in the summer. The German produced sparkling performances in the Bundesliga helping the club finish in the Europan spots last time out.

Sane made everyone aware of the talent he has in a goal-frenzied game in the Champions League game against Real Madrid. Schalke won that leg 4-3 with Sane scoring a wondergoal.

Since then many clubs have submitted bids for him, but Manchester City and Pep Guardiola convinced the starlet to make the move. Unfortunately for Sane, he has had a slow start to life in Manchester.

He was not considered match fit for the first three games of the season. He had a cameo appearance in the Manchester Derby but hasn’t really featured much this season. Sterling, Nolito, Silva and Navas are higher in the pecking order.

He did start yesterday’s game against Everton and showed what he’s got but you have to believe Sterling will once again be first choice from the next game.

2) Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Henrikh Mkhitaryan had the second highest number of assists last season, behind Arsenal's Mesut Ozil. Dortmund had a great domestic season as well scoring freely and sometimes at will.

Bayern Munich were eventually crowned champions but it was not always one-way traffic for them and Dortmund did make it difficult for some periods of the season. Their trio of Reus, Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan managed over a 100 goals in all competitions.

He finally got his big money move to Manchester United and Jose Mourinho knew what he was getting for €42 million. The assumption was that he would automatically be a first team choice but things haven’t turned out that way.

Jose hesitated to play the Armenian in his first three games as Juan Mata's good form ensured he was first choice. He did come off the bench many times and showed what he was capable off with his dribbles and passing.

He finally got his chance in the Manchester Derby but his performance was very uncharacteristic. He had no influence on the game whatsoever and the energy and dynamism he showed in his substitute appearances was absent.

Now he is still on the bench and it might be a while before he can displace an in-form Juan Mata from the first team.

1) Andre Gomes

Andre Gomes was one of the players that arrived at the Camp Nou as part of a summer spending spree but he cost more than the other recruits. The Portuguese international impressed during the European Championships when his team lifted the trophy by defeating the highly favored hosts, France.

The reason for Barcelona deciding to splash the cash was the lack of depth last season. The Catalans were cruising to the league title at a point until they faced Villarreal which proved to be the turning point of their season.

Barcelona went without a win for 4 weeks and Enrique did not have enough quality from the bench to change things up when it wasn’t working for them. They let Real Madrid and Atletico back in the race and needed to ensure they won their last few games before being able to celebrate their title

Gomes was the supposed to be the fix for that lack of depth but so far Barca are as reliant on their front three plus Iniesta as they were last season. The games Gomes has started he has failed to really light up the crowd and is now a €35 million option from the bench .