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2. Florian Thauvin
French winger Florian Thauvin signed for Newcastle United in a move from Marseille in the summer of 2015 for a fee of £15m, but the hype around him at that point was such that the figure sounded like a potential bargain. Thauvin had been recognised as one of Europe’s best prospects for some time, and had been named Ligue 1’s Young Player of the Year in 2012/13.
Unfortunately, his time at St. James’ Park was an unmitigated disaster; he played just 16 games for the club, scoring just one goal in an EFL Cup tie with Northampton Town, and was even criticised by club legend Alan Shearer for turning up to a match wearing a tuxedo. It came as no surprise when the Frenchman was loaned back to Marseille just five months after arriving in England.
Thauvin made that move permanent in the summer of 2016, and since then he’s proven to be far more than a Premier League flop. The winger scored 15 goals in Ligue 1 in 2016/17 – including his first career hat-trick – and bettered that the following season by hitting 22 in just 34 matches. That was enough to earn him a nomination as Ligue 1’s Player of the Year – and also won him a spot in France’s World Cup winning squad in the summer of 2018.
An ankle injury sustained in September has since sidelined the Frenchman, restricting him to just one appearance in the current season – but if he can return in 2020 and pick up the form he showed prior, he’ll be likely to carry on proving that he’s no flop – and could even return to the Premier League in the future.
