Six eye-catching Premier League signings who flopped – including Tanguy Ndombele

Whether it be a premature move or a build up of pressure when transferring into the best league on the planet – the Premier League has a habit of turning promising stars into a shadow of their former selves.

A recent example is Tottenham opting to send Tanguy Ndombele back on loan to Lyon just after 31 months after his £55million arrival from the same club.

Following that disappointing transfer, Daily Star Sport has taken a look at six occasions when Premier League clubs broke the bank for a marquee signing – and were left with nothing but regret.

Sebastien Haller

Sebastien Haller joined West Ham for a club record fee that could have risen to £45million in the summer of 2019 having fired home 20 goals across all competitions for Eintracht Frankfurt in 2018/19.

It quite quickly became apparent that Haller did not fit in to the system at the London Stadium, and he scored only 14 goals across a total of 54 matches.

The 27-year-old left to join Ajax for £18million last summer, going on to recapture his best form to score 35 goals across 46 matches and 22 already this season.

Tiemoue Bakayoko

Tiemoue Bakayoko joined Chelsea from Monaco for around £40million in the summer of 2017 after helping Monaco to an unlikely Ligue 1 triumph over PSG.

Bakayoko struggled from the off in the Premier League despite being Chelsea's second most expensive ever transfer at the time, leaving on loan to join Milan the following summer.

The 27-year-old has since been sent on loan to Monaco and Napoli and now Milan again, with little chance that he will ever get back into the fold at Stamford Bridge.

Angel Di Maria

Angel Di Maria to Manchester United was one of the most dipterous moves in Premier League history – despite him registering a respectable tally of 11 assists in his only full season.

Di Maria joined the club as a La Liga and Champions League winner with Real Madrid, costing United £59.7million when signing a five-year deal.

He left the following summer after refusing to join United's preseason tour, signing for PSG where he has gone on to win four league titles and nine domestic cups.

Tanguy Ndombele

Tanguy Ndombele was tasked with revamping the Spurs midfield after joining the club from Lyon in 2019, costing them a cool £55million on a six-year deal.

He failed to impress under three different permanent managers, making 91 appearances in total and scoring 10 goals before rejoining Lyon last month.

However, with plenty of time left on his Spurs deal and him only being 25, there is still time to impress for Ndombele in the Premier League.

Timo Werner

Timo Werner joined Chelsea as one of the most prolific forwards on the planet back in 2020.

The Germany international had fired home 95 goals across 159 games for RB Leipzig, and looked a good bet to fire Frank Lampard's men to a title challenge.

That wasn't the case, and Werner is still yet to find his shooting boots having managed only 18 goals across 71 appearances – but he has of course picked up a Champions League medal.

Danny Drinkwater

Another Chelsea deal that went horribly wrong was the £35million arrival of Danny Drinkwater.

The former Leicester man arrived a year after he helped the Foxes to the title, and looked set to fit in next to former team-mate N'Golo Kante in the middle of the park.

Things have not gone to plan, with the former England midfielder making only 23 appearances for the club and being loaned out to Burnley, Aston Villa, Kasimpasa and most recently Reading.

Source: Read Full Article