10 world class players who were disasters after moving to Premier League
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The transfer window continues to bubble away as we wind down towards the final few weeks of business.
Premier League champions Manchester City have already wrapped up a domestic record £100m transfer for Jack Grealish, whilst rivals Manchester United have forked out a whopping £73m to finally prise Jadon Sancho away from Borussia Dortmund.
Sancho's arrival sees him join the long list of players who have been plucked by English clubs after sparkling overseas.
But not all of them have been as successful as Sancho is tipped to be – some of the biggest names in the world have flopped in the Premier League.
Here, Daily Star Sport takes a look at 10 world class players who were complete disasters in the English top-flight.
1) Andriy Shevchenko
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was desperate to snap up Ukraine's lethal hitman Andriy Shevchenko and finally got his wish in the summer of 2006.
The Blues prised the striker away from AC Milan for a whopping £39.5m.
Shevchenko had a remarkable strike rate in Serie A, but seemed to diminish overnight following his arrival at Stamford Bridge.
The Ukrainian ace managed just nine Premier League goals in 48 appearances before he was offloaded back to his first club, Dynamo Kiev.
2) Juan Sebastian Veron
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Juan Sebastian Veron's arrival at Old Trafford for a then club-record fee in excess of £38m raised a few eyebrows at the time.
The ex-Lazio man was tasked with breaking into a star-studded midfield, and despite winning the Player of the Month award in his first month with the club, the Argentine ultimately failed to do so.
Veron struggled to nail down a starting berth during his two years in Manchester, with United cutting their losses by flogging the ace to Chelsea for £19m.
The playmaker didn't last long at Stamford Bridge either, making just seven Premier League appearances before being farmed out on loan to Inter Milan.
3) Angel Di Maria
Angel Di Maria was a marquee signing for Manchester United, who splashed out a mammoth £59.7m to snap up the winger from Real Madrid in 2014.
Di Maria racked up just 34 appearances and four goals in a miserable year before his short stint in Manchester was ended with a £44m switch to French giants PSG.
Di Maria lifted the lid on his nightmare spell at Old Trafford back in 2019, blaming former boss Louis Van Gaal for flopping.
"I only stayed one year. It wasn't the best period of my career, or they didn't let me have my best time there," he told French radio station France Bleu.
"There were problems with the coach at the time.
“But thanks to God, I was able to come to PSG and be myself again."
4) Robinho
Manchester City shocked the world with the blockbuster capture of Brazilian star Robinho in a £32.5m deal on transfer deadline day in 2008.
The ex-Real Madrid man was the first big bucks signing from City's rich new owners as they set about transforming the club.
Unfortunately, the attacker failed to live up to the hype.
He managed 14 goals in just 31 appearances in Manchester before he was flogged to AC Milan for a reported £15m just two years later.
5) Alberto Aquilani
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez snapped up Alberto Aquilani as a replacement for Reds icon Xabi Alonso in an £18m deal back in 2009.
The ex-Roma man suffered with injuries during a nightmare stay on Merseyside.
He failed to hit anywhere near the heights expected after his move, managing just 18 appearances and notching just a solitary strike.
Aquilani was shipped out on successive loans to Juventus and AC Milan before Liverpool allowed the flop to depart on a free transfer to Fiorentina.
6) Serhiy Rebrov
Tottenham felt they had pulled off a real coup when they lured Serhiy Rebrov to White Hart Lane back in 2000.
Rebrov had formed a deadly partnership with Andriy Shevchenko at Dynamo Kiev, which tempted Spurs into forking out a fee in excess of £16m to snag the striker.
Unfortunately, Rebrov failed to replicate that form in the Premier League.
He managed just 10 goals in 59 league games, including a miserable run of just one goal in 30 Premier League games.
He was soon sent on loan to Turkey with Fenerbahce for the final two years of his contract.
7) Tanguy Ndombele
Tanguy Ndombele cost Tottenham a club-record £55m back in 2019 – but it now appears he could be on his way out of the club just two years later.
There have been question marks over the Frenchman's fitness and commitment during his stay in north London, where he's failed to nail down a starting slot.
The former Lyon ace managed just 21 appearances in his debut Premier League season and only had a bit-part role last term under old boss Jose Mourinho.
The midfielder has been linked with a move away again this summer, with the 24-year-old failing to feature in any of Spurs' five pre-season games so far.
8) Eliaquim Mangala
Manchester City splashed out a mammoth fee in excess of £40m for rising star Eliaquim Mangala back in 2014.
The Porto defender had starred out in Portugal but struggled with the step up to the Premier League.
Mangala failed to convince in his first couple of years at the Etihad before being frozen out under Pep Guardiola.
The centre-half had spells on loan at Valencia and Everton before rejoining the former on a free transfer at the end of an uninspiring spell at City.
9) Mateja Kezman
Mateja Kezman's remarkable record of 105 Eredivisie goals in just 121 games convinced the Chelsea hierarchy to sanction a £5.3m deal the hitman.
That fee looked a bargain for someone with such a prolific record – but unfortunately, Kezman still ended up a Premier League flop.
The striker endured a miserable year in London following his switch from PSV Eidhoven, netting just four times before he was quickly sold to Atletico Madrid.
The Blues did at least manage to recoup their outlay on the forward.
Despite this, Kezman told SkySports in 2011 that joining Chelsea was "the best thing in my career", going on to state that "the transfer to Chelsea made my dreams come true".
10) Fernando Morientes
Fernando Morientes had a global reputation when he arrived on Merseyside in a £7.8m transfer.
At his previous club, Morientes was hailed as a Real Madrid icon, netting 100 goals in 272 appearances.
But the Spaniard failed to deliver for Liverpool during his time in the Premier League.
After netting just 12 goals in 60 games, the Reds cut their losses and flogged Morientes to Valencia for a paltry £3m.
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