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The football season is young and Bayern Munich are already tearaway leaders in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund also in red-hot form having plundered 61 goals in 19 matches. Inter Milan are back in the top half of the Serie A with Fiorentina for company, while Juventus are struggling as are their English counterparts Chelsea, who recently crumbled to a 3-1 defeat at home to Juergen Klopp’s Liverpool.While many teams have got their new signings to fire this season, some have not been so lucky. We look at 5 signings in attack who came in amid much fanfare but have flopped for their teams thus far.
#5 Mario Mandzukic - Juventus
The veteran Croatian striker and former Bayern Munich hitman Mario Mandzukic was signed from Atletico Madrid by Juventus who had an unenviable task of rebuilding a team that almost won the treble last season. Shorn of stars like Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Carlos Tevez, Juventus were swift to splash the cash on Paulo Dybala and Mandzukic.
However, Juventus have had a horrible start to the season and sit 10th on the table after 11 games. This has largely been because the team has been unable to find the back of the net and have been heavily dependent on the young Dybala for goals.
Mandzukic has a very poor return of one goal in all competitions this season so far. He has also found game time hard to come by with only eight appearances in all competitions for the Bianconeri.
Not only do stars like Paul Pogba and others have to step up, but Mandzukic must start delivering if Juventus harbour any hopes of retaining the Scudetto and progressing in Europe.
#4 Memphis Depay - Manchester United
Manchester United are currently in the midst of a frustrating string of results with goals hard to come by. The slump to Middlesbrough at home in the League Cup summed up the problems United are having in front of goal. A lot of this is also down to the poor form of the man brought in to replace the talented United flop Angel Di Maria as the perceived successor to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Depay helped United sail into the group stage of the Champions League with fine performances against Club Brugge in the qualifiers. But overall he has had a horrendous time with only two goals for his 50 shots in all competitions if we do not count his goals against Brugge.
Depay was United’s first signing of the season, bought amid much fanfare and was immediately handed the iconic number 7 jersey. The weight of expectations seem to be impacting the Dutch winger a lot as he has completely fizzled out and has been relegated to the bench amid fears that he would turn out to be another Di Maria.
The youngster has the talent, but he has to stay focused and be determined to make the big step up from the Eredivisie and resurrect his sagging season.
#3 Pedro - Chelsea
Perhaps the worst affected by Chelsea’s nightmarish start to the season would be Pedro. Signed in the summer leaving his boyhood club Barcelona where he had won a host of trophies, Pedro decided to ply his trade in the cash-rich shores of the Premier League in the hope of regular game time. But regular game time under Jose Mourinho is not what he has got, and back at Barcelona with Lionel Messi injured, he would surely have got a chance to make his mark.
Pedro is taking time to adjust to the physicality and pace of the EPL. He has just made 7 appearances in all competitions since his move in the summer. His poor finishing is not helping him or his team at all having taken 18 shots and converted them into a poor return of only two goals.
After a match-winning debut against West Brom, Pedro’s sole contribution has come against lower-tier opposition in the League Cup. And with Chelsea in a complete meltdown, things are sadly going downhill for the La Masia graduate.
With Eden Hazard misfiring, he will surely get his chances and must look to make up for his lacklustre start to the season.
#2 Jackson Martinez - Atletico Madrid
Jackson Martinez was bought in the summer from FC Porto for £25 million to revitalize the forward line for Atletico Madrid. However, he has largely failed to recreate his fiery form for Porto where he plundered 67 goals in 88 appearances.
There were always voices in the Porto faithful that believed Martinez was a very wasteful striker despite his impressive figures and his profligacy in front of goal had cost the team on many occasions. Unfortunately, he has shown signs of sluggishness and his poor form in front of goal has increased the burden on Fernando Torres and Antoine Greizmann.
With just two goals and one assist in all competitions, Martinez has turned in a slew of unimpressive performances and has not yet nailed down a starting spot in the Atletico starting lineup. With only 8 shots on target out of 18, the lack of service is not an excuse.
Atletico have dropped points in easy games and have had to work out of their skins to keep pace with Real Madrid and Barcelona. Important Champions League games are to come against Astana and Benfica to ensure they secure the top spot and get a favourable draw in the knockout stages and Martinez will have to start easing the pressure of his strike partners soon to justify his price tag.
#1 Radamel Falcao - Chelsea
It is a shame for football that El Tigre is not the same player he was after that knee injury that also kept him out of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. A loan move to Manchester United last season was perceived to be just what he needed to get back to his marauding self. But a mere 4 goals in 29 games in light of the millions it took to get him to Old Trafford meant his stock had fallen dramatically.
However, Jose Mourinho took the plunge and signed him on loan from AS Monaco for the 2015/16 season. He was to be the replacement they needed after Didier Drogba left the club and a partner for Diego Costa. However, Falcao still seems out of depth in the Premier League and it looks like the English game is too fast and physical for the 29-year-old.
With just 4 shots on target (10 in total) and one goal (no assists) to show from his outings in the Premier League thus far, Falcao has a lot to do if he doesn’t want a repeat of his United nightmare.
