Top 20 Worst Premier League Transfers In January PART ONE

Today, we start a series of posts looking at some disastrous transfers that have taken place in January over the years.

We have not restricted our choices to those that happened after the transfer window was introduced in the 2002/03 season so do expect a few transfers that occurred earlier than that.

Since the advent of the January window, it has been commonly associated with panic buys and there are a few that fall into that category on this list.

Press the next page as we list our worst Premier League signings in January (numbers 20 to 17).

20) Diego Forlan (Independiente to Manchester United – £6.9m – 2001)

This is definitely a case of ‘what might have been’, rather than the player’s ability being to blame for the failure of the move.

After joining United, Forlan started with an 18-game barren spell in front of goal. He went on to score only 17 in 97 appearances for United before leaving for Villarreal. He went on to win two European Golden Shoes and the 2010 World Cup Golden Boot.

19) Ricardo Rocha (Benfica to Tottenham – £3.3m – 2007)

Hardly the most expensive signing but the centre-back was a fully-fledged Portuguese international when he first arrived at White Hart Lane and big things were expected of him.

However, Rocha just couldn’t cut it in the Premier League. He struggled with the pace of the game, and he left after three forgettable seasons. He did, though, go on to have a somewhat more successful spell at Portsmouth.

18) Alan Hutton (Rangers to Tottenham – £9m – 2008)

Another mistake made by Spurs. It did look like a sensible signing at the time, with the fullback having impressed in Scotland, where he had won the title. He couldn’t, though, make the step up to the Premier League.

Hutton struggled defensively, and he was eventually shipped out to Aston Villa where the Scottish international also initially struggled to make an impact, before becoming a firm fixture in the twilight of his career.

17) Giorgos Samaras (Heerenveen to Manchester City – £6m – 2006)

Before City were loaded with cash from Sheikh Mansour, the Manchester club were not in the best shape financially, so shelling out a sizeable fee on the Greek international was a big deal.

Samaras went on to have two and a half rather ineffective seasons for the Citizens, before he found his level playing in Scotland for Celtic.

You may also be interested in reading:

5 Soon To Be Out Of Contract Players Who PL Clubs Could Sign On The Cheap In January
The Best Performing Player At EVERY Premier League Club PART FOUR
The Best Performing Player At EVERY Premier League Club PART THREE
The Best Performing Player At EVERY Premier League Club PART TWO
The Best Performing Player At EVERY Premier League Club PART ONE
5 Things West Ham Fans Need To Know About Daniel Kretinsky After He Purchased A 27% Stake In The Club
Dispossessed: The Players Who Lose The Ball The Most At The Top Six Premier League Clubs
The Five Most ‘Card Happy’ Referees In The Premier League So Far This Season

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