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#3 Christian Benteke - €46.5 million
Liverpool signed Christian Benteke in 2015, a Premier League-proven entity. In a way, Benteke was brought in to do the job that Balotelli failed to. The Belgian had an impressive CV, having scored 49 goals in 102 appearances for Aston Villa.
Benteke had a far better time at the club than his predecessor, Balotelli. However, it was an overpriced purchase by Rodgers, who was sacked just a few months after Benteke’s arrival. Jurgen Klopp had no plans to include the target man in his future plans.
Although Benteke scored some crucial goals for the Reds in the 2015-16 season, he was sold to Crystal Palace for €31.2 million in the summer of 2016. In 42 outings for Liverpool, the 6’ 2” centre-forward registered ten goals and six assists.
#2 Lazar Markovic - €25 million
Lazar Markovic was a part of the cavalry bought by Brendan Rodgers with the ‘Luis Suarez money’. Like most of those players, Markovic flopped as well. The Serb’s price tag was far more than his market value at the time (€10 million), and he wasn’t able to perform consistently.
The Reds didn’t have a true identity after Suarez’s departure. Markovic was even deployed in the wing-back role at times, which he clearly hadn’t signed up for. Markovic only managed four goal contributions in 34 games for the Merseyside-based club.
Markovic’s three appearances for the Reds’ U23 side epitomised how his time panned out at Anfield. After a couple of loan spells at Hull City and Anderlecht, the winger was sold to Fulham. He now plies his trade at Partizan.
#1 Andy Carroll - €41 million
Andy Carroll is perhaps the most bizarre Liverpool transfer of all time. The Englishman was purchased for a club-record fee in 2011 worth €41 million. Signed to replace the departing Fernando Torres, Carroll fell way below expectations among the Anfield faithful.
Carroll had a market value of €2.5 million when he joined the club; that was 16 times lower than what he was bought for. Let alone replacing Torres, Carroll was outperformed by Luis Suarez, who was expected to play second fiddle to the English striker.
The former Newcastle centre-forward scored 11 times in 58 matches for the Reds. Signed on deadline day of the winter transfer window, Carroll could be deemed a panic buy. He never bounced back from the failure at Anfield, and is currently earning his bread at West Bromwich Albion.
