Top 5 worst signings in Premier League history

The Premier League has become a global league over the years as millions and millions are being invested by the clubs to achieve success. The clubs have spent heavily to attract the best talents from around the world to help achieve their targets. This has made the league the best and the most competitive league in the world.

But spending heavily hasn’t always ensured success for these clubs. We have seen big names flop and not live up to their expectations. We have also seen some players emerge from nowhere and become global stars. This is the beauty of this league as nothing is ever guaranteed.

Let's take a look at the 5 players who failed to live up to their expectations totally and hence can be ranked as the worst signings in the league's history.

#5 Angel Di Maria

It is very surprising to find a player of his calibre on this list but such were his performances for United in the 2014-15 season. Having arrived at United for the-then British transfer record fee of around 59.7 million pounds, much was expected from the Argentine winger. It was hoped that Di Maria would help improve the team after one of the club's worst campaigns the year before.

He was also given the club's legendary number 7 shirt previously worn by the likes of Ronaldo and Beckham. Signs were positive for Di Maria and the club as Di Maria started the season in fine form. He won the club's Player of the Month award for the month of September.

But after October that year, Di Maria’s form began to dip. He suffered an injury in November and this side-lined him till the month of January. He then struggled throughout the last part of the season to regain his form. In the end, he managed to score only 3 goals in 27 appearances for the club. Subsequently, he left United the next season for PSG. He was deemed the worst signing of the season that year by many pundits.

#4 Radamel Falcao

One of the best strikers of this generation, he was signed by Manchester United in 2014 on loan from Monaco with an option to buy him permanently. United were already looking to revamp their squad after finishing 7th the previous year and it seemed that Falcao was a good bargain, considering his profile.

But just like his teammate Di Maria, Falcao couldn’t live up to his expectations and finished the season with just 4 goals in 26 appearances in the league. United refused to exercise the option to buy him permanently at the end of the season.

His second spell at England came at Chelsea when Jose Mourinho signed him on loan with again the option of buying him permanently from Monaco at the end of the season. It was again a disappointing season for him as he yet again failed to reach his original level of form.

He was mostly used as a substitute by Jose in the first half of the season when Chelsea were surprisingly struggling to find their form of the previous season. Due to poor results, Jose was sacked in December and Guus Hiddink was appointed as the caretaker manager. Due to a severe muscular injury, Falcao was dropped from Chelsea’s Champions League squad. At the end of the season, Falcao made only 10 appearances for the club in which he scored only worse. He returned to Monaco the next season.

#3 Andy Carroll

A pretty tall striker, who is known for his heading ability and acrobatic skills, Carroll was signed for the-then transfer record fee for an English player of 35 million pounds. He was signed as a replacement for the departing Fernando Torres. Carroll was compared to the likes of Alan Shearer and Didier Drogba during the early stages of his career.

He was signed by Liverpool in the 2010-11 season but had to wait till March 2011 due to an injury he sustained at Newcastle. He made his debut for Liverpool against their arch rivals, Manchester United in which Liverpool won 3-1.

In his two seasons at the club, he struggled consistently in front of the goal. Although he did show fans glimpses of his talents, he never managed to be consistent enough. He managed to score only 6 league goals for the club in 44 appearances. It was quite a let down for such a heavy price tag. He was subsequently loaned to West Ham in 2012-13 who then brought him on a permanent basis the next season.

#2 Alexis Sanchez

One would have expected Alexis Sanchez to hit the ground running when he was signed by United from Arsenal in January of 2018. But what followed was completely surprising as Sanchez completely went out of form after that.

United won the race against their rivals Manchester City to sign Sanchez from Arsenal and subsequently made him one of the highest paid players in the League. He was expected to add an extra dimension to United's attack and help Mourinho and Co. to push in the final part of the season. But after regularly starting and failing to have any impact on the team, Sanchez was dropped by Mourinho.

In the next season too, Sanchez struggled to find his feet. He was mostly used as a substitute by both Mourinho and Solskjaer. In his 32 Premier League appearances for the club, he has only managed to find the net three times. Ole and Co. would be hoping that Sanchez finds his form once again as United hope to rebuild next season.

#1 Ali Dia

Ranked as the worst transfer by The Times and many leading newspapers, it is not surprising to find Ali Dia on this list in the spot of number 1. As compared to our other candidates, Dia was not even a proper professional footballer. It is believed that he had tricked the-then Southampton manager, Graeme Souness into signing him.

Souness has said that it was the legendary George Weah who had called him personally and had told him that Dia was his cousin and that he had played for Paris Saint-Germain and had also made several appearances for his country. Instead, it is believed that it was actually a fellow university student of Dia who had actually called Souness and tricked him into signing Dia.

Days later, Dia was signed and he made his one and only appearance for Southampton against Leeds United. He was brought on as a substitute for Le Tissier in the 32nd minute. But he was so bad that he was taken off in the 85th minute, ending his short debut. Shortly afterwards, he was released from his contract by the club. Dia continued to play non-league football for sometime after that but later gave up football altogether.