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From Torres to a Sanchez... Look back at some PL clubs' WORST signings

With many clubs suffering from the financial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, the next transfer window is set to look very different.


Many teams won't be able to splash the amount of cash that is usually spent in the summer months, but as we know, big money signings don't always pay off.



For every Jamie Vardy there's a Roberto Soldado and for every Sadio Mane there's a . mistake in the transfer market can be costly for clubs if they can't later get rid of players that were given big wages. Sportsmail takes a look at every Premier League Club's worst signing since the division began in 1992.



Arsenal - Francis Jeffers
The so-called 'Fox in the Box' was signed from Everton for a fee of £8million in 2001 but it was a nickname he never lived up to.


Arsene Wenger famously chose to sign the Liverpudlian over Ruud van Nistelrooy, a decision he would go on to regret.

Jeffers managed eight goals in 39 appearances and had several fitness issues during his stint in London. He was loaned back to Everton for the final year of his Gunners contract but failed to find the back of the net before joining Charlton for a fee of £2.4million in 2004.



A frontline of Thierry Henry and van Nistelrooy would have been frightening, but instead they were rivals and as they competed in the scoring charts and at the top of the Premier League.

Chelsea - Fernando Torres
Chelsea's dramatic deadline day signing of Fernando Torres always seemed like it came a season too late.


The Spaniard had returned from the 2010 World Cup a shadow of his former self and looked downbeat for Liverpool during the first half of the season. But that didn't deter the Blues from bidding a huge £50million.



Torres found the net 20 times in 110 Premier League appearances and his time at Stamford Bridge was, on the whole, close to a disaster.

That goal against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final and the one against Benfica in the Europa League final went some way to diminishing his earlier demons.



But the forward never looked comfortable in blue and failed to replicate the form he produced in his early years for Liverpool.

Liverpool - El Hadji Diouf
Few former players are despised quite as much by the Anfield crowd as El Hadji Diouf.


Jamie Carragher famously recalled how the £10million signing was the only Liverpool No 9 to go through a whole season without scoring.

The Senegalese international also had several off the field incidents. In a UEFA Cup match with Celtic at Parkhead the forward spat at one of the home fans.



Steven Gerrard has also said Diouf was the worst signing he played alongside. The striker went on to play for other English teams including Bolton, Blackburn, Sunderland, Leeds and Doncaster and remained a controversial figure throughout his career.



His recent comments about Liverpool 'bottling' the Premier League title are not likely to have done him any favours either.

Manchester City - Wilfried Bony
Wilfried Bony scored goals for fun at Swansea and his £25million price tag seemed relatively small given the fees City had paid in the past.


The club reportedly turned down the chance to sign Pablo Dybala in favour of the Ivory Coast international but it was the wrong move.



The striker never seemed to fit into Manuel Pellegrini's passing team and looked lost when leading the line.

Just six goals in 36 Premier League games in two years saw him loaned to Stoke City before he eventually went back to Swansea in 2017.



But he never rediscovered his previous form at the Liberty and after a couple of brief spells elsewhere he found himself training with League Two Newport County. He is now playing his football in Saudi Arabia.



Manchester United - Alexis Sanchez
The last time Manchester United had signed Arsenal's leading goalscorer - Robin van Persie - it worked out pretty well for the Red Devils.


But while van Persie will be remembered for his goal to help United win the title, Alexis Sanchez will be remembered for his astronomical wages and abject performances.



He was never able to replicate his form for the Gunners at Old Trafford. Arsenal received £30million and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in exchange and probably got the better end of the deal.

Reports at the time suggested the total cost for United would be £180million when wages, signing on fees and agent fees are taken into account with the figure Arsenal were paid.



The announcement video of the forward playing 'Glory Glory Man United' on the piano is about the most entertainment the Chilean has provided in his two years with the club.

The 31-year-old has spent the season on loan at Inter Milan but has managed just one goal and two assists. His contract will expire in June but his future remains up in the air given the coronavirus pandemic.



Tottenham - Roberto Soldado
Roberto Soldado was one of the big signings to arrive at White Hart Lane following the departure of Gareth Bale.


Spurs spent £26million on the striker in the hope he would be a 30-goal a season striker and it looked like he would be just that when he scored on his debut against Crystal Palace.

But in his two years in London he found the net just seven times in the league.



Only two of his goals came from open play and the forward seemed to lack calmness in front of goal. He returned to Spain in 2015 when he joined Villarreal.

Thankfully for Spurs a man named Harry Kane came along.



Newcastle - Michael Owen
A transfer that was perhaps always destined to fail.

Michael Owen wanted to leave Real Madrid in 2005 and the Spanish club were happy to let him leave.


But the striker only wanted to go back to Liverpool and the Reds wouldn't meet the LaLiga side's asking price. In came Newcastle to throw a spanner in the works.



Owen didn't want to go to St James' Park but completed the move for a club-record fee of £18million, hoping he would eventually be able to go back to Anfield.

A series of injury problems limited the striker's game time and Newcastle's relegation in 2009 saw Owen join Manchester United.



Owen managed 30 goals in 79 games for the Magpies, not a great return given the fee and huge wages the striker earned. The striker seemingly regrets the transfer as much as Newcastle and there's no love lost between the player and the fans.



Leicester - Ade Akinbiyi
With 70 goals in 161 games during spells at Gillingham, Bristol City and Wolves, surely Ade Akinbiyi was destined to be a star for the Foxes?


A £5.5million fee was a lot of money in the year 2000 but the striker failed to repay that investment from manager Peter Taylor.



Four gilt-edged chances fell to the forward in a 4-1 defeat by Liverpool but he was unable to put any of them away - a story that summed up his time with the club.

He managed just 11 goals in 58 appearances before he was moved on to Crystal Palace in 2002.

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