5 transfers that should never have happened in the Premier League

Andy Carroll's transfer to Liverpool soon turned sour

#2 Andy Carroll to Liverpool

Part of the fallout of the Torres to Chelsea deal was that Liverpool suddenly had £50m to spend on a replacement but only hours to spend it in as the January window was about to close. They brought two strikers in the same transfer window that saw them sell Torres – one, Luis Suarez, worked out massively.

The other turned out to be one of the all-time great transfer flops, despite showing flashes of brilliance. He was Andy Carroll, signed for £35m from Newcastle.

Carroll had been a prolific striker for Newcastle in the Championship in 2009/10, and in his first proper Premier League season, he’d carried that form on, scoring 11 goals in 19 appearances for the Magpies. His physical style and excellent aerial skill had even earned him comparisons with the great Alan Shearer.

The move to Liverpool though felt odd from the start. The word was that Carroll – despite arriving at Anfield via helicopter – didn’t really want the move as he was a Newcastle kid, and he was also coming in with an existing injury. His 2010/11 season was practically a write-off as he only made seven appearances for his new club due to his injuries, but he was expected to kick on in 2011/12.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Despite hitting form towards the end of the season and scoring the winner in the FA Cup semi-final against Everton, he only scored four league goals; and nine in all competitions. When new manager Brendan Rodgers joined the club in the summer of 2012, Carroll clearly didn’t fit in and soon found himself moving to West Ham, first on loan and then permanently. Like Torres, he should never have moved in the first place.