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The month-long mid-season January transfer window offers clubs a chance to resurrect their season by signing players who they think can help them finish the season strongly. These days, clubs are prepared to splash the cash in the January transfer window in order to avoid relegation or to strengthen their title chances. Clubs do not want to take any chances these days and this desperation results in panic buys.
Although the total number of transfers taking place is considerably less than the summer window, January window has witnessed some marquee signings over the years. While the likes of Luis Suarez, Virgil Van Dijk, and Nemanja Vidic proved to be sensational buys for their respective clubs, there have been certain signings who have failed miserably at their new clubs. Through this article, we take a look at the Top-5 worst January transfers of all time.
#5 Juan Cuadrado- (Fiorentina to Chelsea for £23.3m)
Juan Cuadrado had impressed everyone with his pace and trickery for Fiorentina in the Serie A. It convinced Chelsea that he could also be a star in the Premier League and they splashed £23.3m to acquire his services in January 2015 in a move which saw Mohammed Salah going the other way on loan.
The move failed badly for the Blues as the Columbian failed to do anything of note in his limited appearances for the club. Cuadrado could not win the trust of his manager Jose Mourinho and made 15 appearances for the club which included just 3 starts. He failed to find the net on any of those occasions.
It resulted in him being loaned out to Juventus after having spent less than 6 months at Chelsea. Cuadrado found his groove again at Juventus and his loan transfer was made permanent in the summer of 2017 for a fee of €20m.
#4 Wilfried Bony (Swansea to Manchester City for £25m)
Wilfried Bony
Wilfried Bony had been a star at Swansea, scoring 34 goals in a season and a half at Swansea. He went on to win the Golden Boot in 2013/14 with the Swans. His goal scoring spree convinced Manchester City that he could be an able back up to Sergio Aguero and he was signed on a four-and-a-half-year deal for an initial transfer fee of £25 million, rising to £28 million.
However, the move flopped badly as the Ivorian could only score 6 goals in his 36 premier league appearances for the club. Manuel Pelligrini wasn’t a big fan of Bony and gave him only two starts in the season in which he joined.
He was loaned out to Stoke City for the 2016-17 season as the new manager Pep Guardiola was not convinced of his abilities. Bony finally re-signed for his former club Swansea City on a two-year deal for a £12 million transfer fee in 2017.
#3 Fernando Torres (Liverpool to Chelsea for £50m)
Fernando Torres who was a real star at Liverpool was acquired by Chelsea in the January transfer window of 2011 for a whopping amount of £50m, which was a record fee for British transfers at that time.
However, the move was a big letdown for the Blues fans as Torres failed to replicate his goalscoring form at Chelsea. The Spaniard had to wait 903 minutes for opening his Chelsea account. It was his only goal of the season for the Blues that year.
The situation went from bad to worse for Torres as he struggled to find the net consistently for the Blues. The only high points were his equalizing goal in the 2012 Champions League semi-final against Barcelona and the opener in the 2-1 victory in the Europa League final of 2013. The nightmare finally ended for Torres in 2015 with a loan move to AC Milan. He could only score 20 Premier League goals in his 110 appearances for the Blues.
#2 Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool to Barcelona for £142m)
The Brazilian was signed for just £8m by Liverpool from Inter Milan. After impressing for the Reds in the Premier League with his goals/assists, Coutinho was signed by Barcelona for a fee of around £142 million in January 2018 and he became the costliest player in Barcelona’s history.
Coutinho has been struggling with injuries ever since the start of his Barca career. He was sidelined for three weeks at the start of his move with a thigh strain. He then ruptured his hamstring in a Champions League clash with Inter Milan, again ruling him out for three weeks.
The creative midfielder has struggled for game time in the Barcelona midfield with the likes of Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets and Arthur Melo starting ahead of him. The presence of Arturo Vidal who was bought from Bayern in the summer only adds to the competition in midfield.
The move from Liverpool is still just a year old and Coutinho still has time to prove his worth. But the Brazilian should get going quickly before Barca start thinking of offloading him.
#1 Andy Carroll (Newcastle to Liverpool for £35m)
Liverpool had just sold Fernando Torres to Chelsea and were looking to replace his goals at the top. They decided to go in for Andy Carroll who was plying his trade at Newcastle. Carroll was highly impressive for the Magpies and had helped them win promotion to the Premier League.
The move had cost Liverpool £35m which was a record fee for an English player at that time. Carroll’s signing turned out to be a disaster as he could only score just two premier league goals for Liverpool in his 44 appearances for the club in the league.
Carroll was not suited to Liverpool’s style of play and he spent most of his time on the bench. The miserable spell ended after 18 months when he was loaned to West Ham United. The move was made permanent in June 2013 for a fee of £15 million.
