'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The winter transfer window this season has been surprisingly uneventful. There have been rumours swirling around regarding several major European clubs, but very few of them have actually come to fruition.
The only big move so far has been Christian Pulisic, who signed for Chelsea from Borussia Dortmund for £58 million.
Gonzalo Higuain has also signed for the Blues, which is set to spark a flurry of moves involving Alvaro Morata and Krzysztof Piątek.
Barcelona have sealed a move for long-term target Frenkie De Jong. The highly rated 21-year-old Ajax star is viewed by many as Andres Iniesta's successor.
Aaron Ramsey's move to Juventus is more or less a done deal, with the Wales international set to join the Old Lady of Turin after letting his contract expire at the Emirates.
The summer transfer window saw a great deal of activity from several clubs across Europe. Many new signings have hit the ground running.
The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lucas Torreira, Fabinho, Xherdan Shaqiri, Arthur, Vinicius, and several others have settled in well in their respective teams.
However, there have been a fair share of failures. Several high profile stars have failed to live up to their exorbitant transfer fees.
Let's take a look at 5 summer signings who haven't solved the problems at their new clubs.
#5 Mariano Diaz (Real Madrid)
There was really no way this deal was going to end happily.
Having made just 8 appearances for their senior team, Mariano was prematurely sold by Real Madrid to Ligue 1 side Lyon.
He was sensational in the one season he spent in France, scoring 21 goals in 45 appearances. Diaz played alongside the equally brilliant Memphis Depay and Nabil Fekir, as Lyon cruised to a 3rd placed finish.
With Cristiano Ronaldo's departure to Juventus, Florentino Perez needed to bring in an established goalscorer, someone in the mould of a Kane or an Icardi, a player who could at least score half the goals that Ronaldo was scoring at the Bernabeu every season.
Instead, he chose to splash €23 million to re-sign Diaz. To make things worse for the 25-year-old, he was handed Real's number 7 shirt and asked to live up to an impossible legacy.
He's been plagued by muscular injuries in his second spell in Madrid, but even so, he's made only 10 appearances under Lopetegui and Solari, scoring just 1 goal.
His performances so far certainly haven't justified Perez's decision to bring him back, but he's also had a lack of opportunities. With Real still struggling to score goals, trying Mariano up front in place of Benzema for a while might be worth a shot.
#4 Fred (Manchester United)
Every midfielder that Manchester United signed after Paul Pogba was to afford the Frenchman the freedom he needed to express himself in attack.
Fred was a target for Manchester City last January, but Mourinho moved quickly to sign him from Shakhtar for £52m in June.
Nemanja Matic on his own couldn't provide Pogba with the defensive cover he needed since the latter wasn't really used to functioning in a double midfield pivot.
More than 7 months after arriving in Manchester, Fred has done nothing to earn himself a regular spot in the starting XI. The 25-year-old Brazilian has started only 7 matches in the Premier League so far.
Ander Herrera has been in sensational form under Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, and it looks increasingly unlikely that Fred will displace the Spaniard.
On the rare occasions that fans have got a glimpse of him, Fred's passing and rash tackling have raised concerns.
It's still too early to classify him as a flop, and since United are still involved in the FA Cup and Champions League, he's bound to get more chances to prove himself.
#3 Stephan Lichtsteiner (Arsenal)
Lichtsteiner was seen by many as a very shrewd signing by Unai Emery for Arsenal. The right-back had plenty of top-flight experience and was available for free.
Hector Bellerin is an excellent attacking outlet for the Gunners down the right flank, but the defensive part of his game still needs improvement, and Lichtsteiner could also act as a mentor for the 23-year-old.
Part of the reason why the Swiss defender has failed to impress so far is because Emery has often rotated his defensive structure from a 4 man defence to 3 at the back.
As a result, Lichtsteiner has had to play as a right back, right wing-back and centre back so far, thanks to Arsenal's injury crisis.
Bellerin is still the first choice for Emery, but even in his absence - the Spaniard suffered a ligament tear against Chelsea recently - Emery seems to prefer the vastly inexperienced Ainsley Maitland-Niles over the 35-year-old.
He is approaching the end of a truly illustrious career though, and he's understandably not the player he once was during his peak at Juventus. His versatility means he still has a lot to offer to Arsenal; it just might not be in ways that he would have expected.
#2 Malcom (Barcelona)
After his breakthrough season with Bordeaux, the craze and hype surrounding Malcom has considerably reduced since he signed for Barcelona.
Under Ernesto Valverde, Barca had employed an unconventional 4-4-2 system in the 2017/18 season, even though they had signed Ousmane Dembele to replace Neymar.
But thanks to injuries, poor performances and disciplinary issues, Dembele suffered an underwhelming debut campaign at the Camp Nou, which meant Valverde waded back into the transfer market to hijack Malcom's move to Roma.
It led to a great deal of outrage among rival fans on social media, and the desperate nature of the signing suggested that it was a bit of a panic buy. But Barca did get one of the most exciting young wingers in Europe for a reasonable fee of €41m.
If the Brazilian was meant to be a replacement for Dembele, who was attracting interest from several high profile clubs across Europe, it didn't quite work out that way. Malcom has been on the fringes of the squad ever since he joined, and has started just one match in LaLiga.
On the other hand, Dembele seems to have put his problems behind him, and has been in brilliant form of late.
A move away from Spain seems inevitable for Malcom, with Tottenham reportedly ready to offer him an escape route.
#1 Gonzalo Higuain (AC Milan)
The fact that Gonzalo Higuain has moved on to Chelsea before his AC Milan loan deal even ended speaks for itself.
Milan sold Nikola Kalinic to Atletico Madrid, and Juventus came back to them with an offer for their former centre back Leonardo Bonucci. With Juve having wrapped up a deal for Ronaldo, Milan used the opportunity to sign Higuain on loan.
Much like Lichtsteiner at Arsenal, Higuain was supposed to be a mercurial figure in attack, with talented academy graduate Patrick Cutrone playing his understudy.
In what has been another mediocre campaign for Milan, Higuain was off the mark with 6 goals in 7 games, before his form dropped off.
When he faced his parent side Juventus, he missed a penalty and got sent off. It all went downhill from there.
His spell at Milan, however, shouldn't distract fans from the reputation he brings to London. Higuain has been the kind of ruthless goalscorer throughout his career that Chelsea could really use right now - with the only issue being his age.
His former club, on the other hand, has managed to replace him with 13-goal-striker Krzysztof Piątek from Genoa. It's safe to say he won't be missed in Italy.
