As the richest and most celebrated division in world football, the Premier League has never struggled to attract the most talented footballers on the planet.
Masters such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Eden Hazard have come to the Premier League since its inception in 1992, leaving behind lasting legacies, adoring fan clubs and a litany of unforgettable moments.
However, there have also been more than a few mistakes over the years. The Premier League has not always featured the best of its class, with many ending up shockingly out of their depth when trying to make a name for themselves in England’s top flight.
90 minutes ranks the unlucky ten worst players Premier League story, nothing personal, guys.
Sean Dundee had scored 61 goals in the Bundesliga before his arrival at Liverpoola record that filled the club’s supporters with hope that they could bring at least a fraction of that number to Merseyside.
The South African-born striker was only recruited as an alternative, but his impressive performances for Karlsruher did not translate to the Premier League.
Dundee made three scant goalless league appearances for the Reds before returning to Germany for £1m in the summer after signing. Considering Liverpool bought him for £2m, it wasn’t great.
Jozy Altidore’s first foray into the Premier League was extremely underwhelming. A season-long loan spell with Hull City resulted in just a solitary goal in 28 outings as he led the line as the Tigers were relegated to the Championship. Unsurprisingly, they passed on the opportunity to sign the American permanently.
Altidore’s horror spell with Hull seemed to have been forgotten a few years later when Sunderland swooped on the hulking striker after rebuilding his career in the Netherlands with AZ Alkmaar.
However, the Premier League was once again a step too far for Altidore, with one goal in 42 appearances between 2013 and 2015. Twice in a collective 70 outings is unfortunately as bad as to a center forward.
Speaking of failed and uninspiring Premier League strikers, enter Bosko Balaban. The Croatian had a slow start to his career in his homeland, but two prolific seasons with Rijeka and then Dinamo Zagreb caught Aston Villathe eye of
It’s fair to say Villa’s eyes were quickly blinded by the wasteful centre-forward, who managed a huge haul of zero goals in eight outings for the Midlands club.
The £5.8m signing ended up on a free transfer to Club Brugge and has since blamed Villa for not giving him the chance to find some form.
Portugal’s Vitoria de Guimaraes made a quick profit on Bebe. Signing him on a free transfer, they then saw him leave just over a month later without playing a competitive game for the club. Manchester United splashed out the £7.8m needed to bring the vanguard on board.
Portugal had been a popular hunting ground for Man Utd in previous years, but Bebe failed to reach the same levels as Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani. He made just two Premier League appearances for the Red Devils before being sent out on several loan spells abroad.
Four years after arriving, Bebe was booted out of Old Trafford barely wearing a red shirt, and Benfica put the end of his misery out of his misery.
Man Utd were famous for their impressive success rate in the transfer market under Alex Ferguson, but made a few surprise signings under the Scot’s watch. This is to be expected for almost three decades.
Eric Djemba-Djemba – who, unlike Jay-Jay Okocha, was not so good that he was named twice – arrived at Old Trafford in 2003 after a successful spell with Nantes. The Cameroonian midfielder quickly became famous for his overly physical approach, but failed to match it with the ability needed to thrive in Manchester.
20 Premier League appearances later and Djemba-Djemba was given a second chance at Aston Villa, but his time at Villa Park was even worse as he was sold just two years after his arrival.
Christian Poulsen represents Liverpool’s darkest days in the Premier League era. Roy Hodgson’s short and torrid spell with the Reds was littered with poor signings, but even the likes of Joe Cole, Milan Jovanovic and Danny Wilson fared better than the Dane.
The midfielder, who quickly established himself as an uninspiring and technically questionable option in the engine room, would make just 12 Premier League appearances for the Reds before being sold to Evian the following summer.
It was £4.5m for Liverpool, who failed to get the best out of the 92-game Denmark international. He did little to help himself on Merseyside.
Being nicknamed “The Blind Venetian” as a goalkeeper is not particularly encouraging. Such is the fate of Italian stopper Massimo Taibi during his desperate and error-plagued spell with Man Utd in the Premier League.
Signed to replace the injured Mark Bosnich in 1999, Taibi did little to reassure Man Utd fans of his quality, making just four appearances for the Red Devils and a handful of gaffes. Most famously, he allowed a Matt Le Tissier domestic effort to roll through his legs during a 3-3 draw with Southampton.
Unsurprisingly, Taibi was sent out on loan just six months after his £4.5m arrival. I would never play for Man Utd again.
Milton Nunez to Sunderland may be one of the strangest transfers in Premier League history. Signed by then Black Cats manager Peter Reid, the Honduran forward claimed Sunderland really wanted to sign compatriot and fellow PAOK striker Adolfo Valencia but accidentally bought him by mistake.
This theory is given some support by the fact that Núñez only made one Premier League appearance for Sunderland, which lasted 15 minutes. £1.6m well spent eh?
There can’t be many more catastrophic signings than this, with Núñez spending most of his career in Honduras.
Savio Nsereko hadn’t pulled down many trees before his arrival at West Ham United. He had scored just three senior goals for Brescia in 25 appearances, but that was evidently enough for the Irons to spend an estimated £9million on the Ugandan-born striker.
However, the youngster’s promising form in Italy failed to replicate in London, with Savio lasting just six months at West Ham before being shipped out to Fiorentina on a permanent deal.
Ten Premier League appearances resulted in no goals and some were mixed West Ham fans, who struggled to see the potential that the club’s recruitment staff had evidently witnessed.
On this day in 1996, Ali Dia made his only first team appearance for Southampton. pic.twitter.com/AKxaX9TBEN
— 90s Football (@90sfootball) November 23, 2024
without a doubt the The most famous transfer in Premier League history, there is no doubt that Ali Dia’s place is the worst the division has seen.
Signed by Southampton in 1996, the Senegalese striker was recruited by Saints following a hoax phone call received by then manager Graeme Souness. Believing he was talking to former Ballon d’Or winner George Weah – surprise, surprise, he wasn’t – who claimed to be Dia’s cousin, the Scot was convinced to take a chance on the striker.
Having played for amateur club Blyth Spartans at the time, Dia was offered a one-month trial and featured in his only Premier League appearance in a 2–0 win over Leeds United before to be released two weeks later.
Very embarrassing for all concerned.
