EPL Summer Transfers 2015-16 Flop XI

Every transfer window brings with it some top signings, lots of rumours, hype and negotiations finally leading to a player putting pen on paper and signing for a new club. New blood is always exciting and has been one of the best ways to boost morale within the squad.Some of the good signings have been qualified successes. They were brought when a need was identified, and they fully met and exceeded whatever was expected of them.On the other hand, sometimes it just does not go right. At times, it’s the fault of the player who fails to integrate to a new club and cannot carry on his past exploits. At times, it’s on the club for failing to identify a proper fit and not choosing the right player. And at times, it’s just something that happened, where the player had a logical role in the side but it just did not click for him.We take a look at some of these players (including one or two who are on loan but still haven’t lived up to what was expected of them) and put them in a 3-4-1-2 formation.

#1 GK: Artur Boruc

After a successful loan spell at Bournemouth in the 2014/15 season where the Cherries lifted the Championship trophy, Boruc was released by his original club Southampton. He then moved permanently to Bournemouth as a free agent. Being the club’s first choice goalkeeper, Boruc has failed to guard the Bournemouth backline with any assurity whatsoever.

After a series of poor mistakes on 25 October in a league match against Tottenham, where Bournemouth were trounced 5-1 by Tottenham, the Polish goalkeeper was benched. This followed a spell on the bench as Adam Federici took over the gloves.

Lately, Boruc has returned to the helm and has looked better as of now. He has to keep that form up and keep his new side out of the relegation zone for this move to be regarded as a success.

Notable mention: Adam Bogdan (we can’t call him a flop since he was not expected to perform well by many in the first place)

#2 RB: Carl Jenkinson

Fresh from a successful loan spell at West Ham in the 2014/15 season, Carl Jenkinson returned to Arsenal to find out that Hector Bellerin had seemingly risen from being the 4th choice right back to a regular starter in the first team.

With Bellerin’s emergence and Debuchy’s return to full fitness at the start of the season, Arsene Wenger loaned Jenkinson back to West Ham so as to not hamper his development. However, his second season at the Boleyn has not turned as expected.

After wretched performances against Bournemouth and Tottenham, Slaven Bilic experimented with James Tomkins, a centre back, as a right back. The results have been brilliant and Tomkins has coped up really well with a seemingly unnatural position.

With Ogbonna, Reid and Collins fit, Tomkins is not required in the heart of the defence for the moment. The signing of Sam Byram, an exciting young right back, also does not bode well. On the periphery of the first team, Jenkinson now has a very unclear future for his current club as well as his boyhood club, Arsenal.

#3 CB: James Chester

Following Hull’s relegation, James Chester was one of those who was looking for a new club to stay in the Premier League. Snapped up by Tony Pulis’s West Brom for a reported £8 million, Chester’s ability to play as both a centre-back and as a right-back looked to solidify the fact that he would be a vital part of the team from Hawthorns this season.

Instead, it’s gone all wrong for the Irishman with Tony Pulis settled on a Dawson-McAuley-Olsson-Evans back four for this season. Even an injury to Olsson couldn’t force Chester in, with Pulis calling in Chris Brunt to be the temporary left back.

Having only three starts and zero substitute appearances, Chester has openly voiced his displeasure over his lack of playing time and how it is hindering his chances of making the cut for the Welsh Euro 2016 team. Not quite what he had in mind when he signed on to be the club’s most expensive defender.

#4 LB: Baba Rahman

The sale of Filipe Luis and Ryan Bertrand, as well as the rapid decline in form for Branislav Ivanovic, forced Chelsea into the signing of left-back Baba Rahman from Augsburg. Baba had a major role in helping Augsburg to the lofty heights of 5th place in the Bundesliga and got his move to a big club.

With Ivanovic’s decline, Chelsea fans clamoured for Jose Mourinho to give Baba Rahman a shot in the first team. Mourinho, however, claimed that Baba had not settled in England well and was not ready for Premier League football, only getting a look-in on the easier Champions League games.

An injury to Branislav Ivanovic forced Mourinho to give Baba Rahman time on the pitch, but the youngster was very shaky defensively. While his attacking side of the game was a major improvement over Azpilicueta (one fine cross to Oscar the highlight), his defensive struggles led to Jose Mourinho benching him and asking Kurt Zouma to fill in at fullback. Baba has never gotten back into the team since, with even a change of managers not leading to an increase in playtime.

#5 RM: Pedro

Another player Chelsea signed this season was Pedro, from Barcelona. He had been a regular starter for the all-conquering Barcelona side of the Pep Guardiola era, winning all possible trophies for club and country as well.

On the other hand, Following the loans and permanent moves of players like Victor Moses, Mohammed Salah, Juan Cuadrado and Andre Schurrle, Chelsea were looking for a more permanent solution on the wings.

Pedro, meanwhile, was looking for a move on after losing his place to the Messi-Suarez-Neymar combo at Barcelona. He arrived to much fanfare after turning down Manchester United to join the Blues.

His debut just showed why he was so sought after, as the Spaniard scored a goal and assisted Diego Costa and very nearly got two more assists as well. In the next game against Crystal Palace, Pedro was far more subdued but still picked up Falcao with a peach of a cross for the equalizer.

Since then, it has not been the ‘smooth ride’ that everyone expected. The 28-year-old’s influence waned as he struggled to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League, and his form took a dip alongside his club’s as well. He has only scored 4 goals for the club. Chelsea fans are calling for Kenedy to be played ahead of him, with the youngster strengthening his case for a start with every passing game.

#6 CM: Bastian Schweinsteiger

Despite an injury ridden 2013/14 season, Bastian Schweinsteiger decisively turned up at the World Cup in a deeper midfield role. However, what followed the World Cup triumph was another season ridden with injuries and eventually a transfer to Manchester United.

His new club were over the moon with this signing, believing that if his fitness could be managed then this could be a decisive signing in a position that has plagued the club for years. In some aspects, Schweinsteiger has definitely contributed for the club. His leadership, presence and ball retention abilities have been obvious to see, and he has emerged as one of the leaders of the dressing rooms in no time at all.

However, there is still a feeling of unfilled potential from the German. For all his ball retention, there has been a lack of an attacking edge to his game. Also, the German has struggled against fast opponents and has been overwhelmed against high-pressing teams, such as against Arsenal or in the Champions League decider against Wolfsburg. He has not exerted his influence on midfield battles in many games and has had a fairly underwhelming time at Manchester.

#7 CM: Jordy Clasie

Following Morgan Schneiderlin’s departure to Manchester United, it was a major worry as to how the Saints would replace the Frenchman. The answer, it seemed, was in the market. Southampton swooped in to sign Jordy Clasie from Feyenoord, with the player given a chance to link up again with Ronald Koeman.

Following the successes of last season’s signings, it was expected that the “Dutch Xavi” would hit the ground running. Koeman had a lot of faith in his abilities but Clasie’s start was a rocky one, facing an injury before the season started.

After his recovery, Clasie has been employed mainly as a sitter alongside Victor Wanyama. His time could be characterized as unspectacular, as Clasie has failed to stand out in midfield. While failing to stand out is not necessarily a bad thing for a holding midfielder, Clasie has failed to influence proceedings and let Southampton dominate games.

Oriol Romeu has arguably been a better holding midfielder while James Ward-Prowse started over him for the 3-0 win against West Brom and scored a brace. In particular, he was disappointing in the 1-0 loss to Norwich where he was overrun by the Hornets and had a part in their goal.

Clasie has referred to his earlier struggles due to a lack of match fitness post-injury, but his performances have not turned for the better since the 4-0 win over Arsenal. It’s been an underwhelming campaign for the Holland international.

#8 LM: Florian Thauvin

Following a failed investment on French attacking midfielder Remy Cabella, Newcastle had hoped a second go might be more fruitful. Enter, Florian Thauvin. After a rousing home debut and an encouraging cameo at Old Trafford, big things were expected of the former Marseille man. Instead, it has been worse than anyone could have thought of.

Thauvin came to Newcastle after a disappointing 2014/15 campaign, and he has carried that form despite new surroundings. Careless in possession and failing to create and influence games, Thauvin has a dismal work rate off the ball. In a Newcastle side that was struggling at that moment, Thauvin epitomised up the fans sentiment about players who just do not turn up on match days.

On the fringes of the first team, Thauvin has been linked with a move back to Ligue 1 already. It has been a remarkable fall from grace for someone who would have had small hopes of staking a claim for inclusion in France’s Euro 2016 squad.

#9 AM: Memphis Depay

Oh Memphis. After an impressive World Cup was followed by emerging as the Eredivisie’s Player of the Season, Memphis moved on to Manchester United and impressed everyone in the pre-season as he linked up well with his teammates.

Perceived as the player Man Utd chose over Firmino according to the fans, it has been the latter who has been much more impressive in the first season. Netting just two league goals and an assist all season, Memphis has been one of the major disappointments this season.

His impressive pre-season performance, as well as a brace against Club Brugge in the Champions League, led to fans drooling, but he has yet to reproduce those performances in a crunch situation as of now. Never lacking in confidence on the ball, his prosperity for taking on free kicks and shots has yet to manifest itself into a tangible contribution for Manchester United.

Meanwhile, his work rate and attitude have also been suspected and his defensive efforts, a horrible defensive header at Stoke especially, have been dire. Depay has failed to utilize any chance presented to him and has not had much success internationally as well, as the Dutch crashed out of the Euro 2016 qualifiers.

#10 ST: Salomon Rondon

Signed from Zenit for a club record fee of £12 million, big things were expected of Rondon after the transfer request of Saido Berahino and the sale of last season’s big name signing Brown Ideye. Instead, Rondon’s West Brom career has mirrored that of Ideye and his time at the Hawthorns has been riddled with inconsistency.

Rondon works hard off the ball and is someone who fits the Pulis mould, a tall striker who helps in defending set pieces and suits the long-ball approach. As such, his hold up play has been adequate. His goal tally is not.

To be fair, Tony Pulis’s teams favour defensive solidity heavily over any sort of attacking flair. However, in the end, he is West Brom’s main striker and 3 goals is just not an acceptable return. Rondon has missed many good, game defining chances whenever presented to him and failed to step up.

#11 ST: Christian Benteke

Following a brilliant 2013-14 season, Liverpool have taken a turn to the worse and have failed to rise up as a Champions League force. One of the chief reasons for that is the loss of the “SAS”, with Luis Suarez leaving the club and forming an even better strikeforce at Barcelona, while Daniel Sturridge has been out of the team with major injury problems on a constant basis.

After Liverpool’s initial recruitments in the striker area – Lambert and Balotelli - failed spectacularly, the club went for Aston Villa’s star Christian Benteke. The Belgian is a tall, monstrous striker who never let Villa’s troubles affect his scoring rate, as he constantly netted goals and saved the club from relegation. It was interesting to see though if he could possibly thrive in a high-pressing approach such as that at Liverpool.

In short, no. Despite having a decent goal tally, Benteke’s immobility never really played into Liverpool’s strength and the club has looked much better when they have featured Firmino, Sturridge or Ings. Benteke is a striker who thrives on long balls and direct football, but at Anfield he has gone from Brendan Rodgers to Jurgen Klopp, two managers who’s philosophies are anchored around possession, and pressing football.

Benteke has been used as a bench option mostly and it’s hard to imagine if he would have still featured in the team if Ings and Sturridge were fully fit. The quality is still there but the signs are not good for the Belgian.

The lineup is:

Formation (3-4-1-2): Boruc; Jenkinson, Chester, Baba Rahman; Pedro, Schweinsteiger, Clasie, Thauvin; Depay; Rondon, Benteke