Every Premier League Team's Worst Free-Transfer Signing of All Time
Free transfers are largely regarded as being among the most valuable business decisions in the world of football, but even the cheapest deals can go awry.
The money-spinning Premier League has seen its fair share of pear-shaped free acquisitions since the Bosman ruling of 1995 brought these cut-price moves into common circulation.
Some players fail to justify their wage expenses while others fall so short of expectations they fail to make even a single appearance for their new clubs.
At its best, a free transfer can prove to be a masterstroke in marketplace know-how, but as we'll find out, there's a good reason why many Premier League players of the past never cost a penny.
Arsenal: Marouane Chamakh
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Far from the only Ligue 1 sensation to struggle in north London, Marouane Chamakh was brought to Arsenal in 2010 on the back of some spirited years with Bordeaux—to date the only club he's represented in France's top flight.
However, a bright start under Arsene Wenger was cut awfully short, and the Morocco international managed to bag just seven goals in his first Premier League campaign, scoring 11 across all competitions.
In the striker's defence, Chamakh was quoted in the summer of 2013 as saying that a case of blackmail stunted his transition to the English top flight, per French newspaper L'Equipe (h/t the Guardian's Amy Lawrence):
"It was not easy for me because things about my private life were disclosed. The tabloids did not have the right to publish photos or videos. The story weighed me down. People tried to blackmail me. I filed a complaint, the police intervened and found these people."
Wenger was so uncertain in Chamakh's ability that he brought in Gervinho, Joel Campbell and Park Chu-young just a year after the Moroccan's arrival, although the fans were calling for a greater class of forward.
Chamakh made just 11 Premier League appearances in his final 18 months at the Emirates Stadium, leaving the Gunners relieved not to have spent any funds on his acquisition.
Aston Villa: Robert Pires
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Honourable Mention: Fabio Ferraresi
It may be considered heresy to besmirch the good name of a Premier League legend such as Robert Pires, but the Frenchman's decision to join Aston Villa in 2010 was perhaps an itch better left unscratched.
Having left a legacy at Arsenal, it was admirable for Pires to risk his Premier League reputation being sullied at the age of 37, and it was unfortunate his age told during his six months in Birmingham.
Although it wouldn't be fair to call the maestro a liability, Pires unsurprisingly didn't pack the same punch in his second Premier League tenure and made just a handful of appearances under Gerard Houllier.
After spending the latter half of the 2010-11 campaign at Villa, Pires failed to see his terms renewed and ended his English career for a second time.
Burnley: Amadou Sanokho
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Amadou Sanokho came to Turf Moor on an initial trial after leaving Serie D side Sangiustese in 2004, and it's astounding to believe the Frenchman spent even four months as a Championship player.
Managing just three Burnley appearances in total, only one of which came as part of the starting XI, Sanokho quickly displayed that he was not cut out to play anywhere near England's top flight, never mind directly below it.
His example sits as one of those rags-to-riches tales that would have one believe if Sanokho can do it, there might be hope for all of us.
Chelsea: Winston Bogarde
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Honourable Mention: Claudio Pizarro
Widely regarded as the go-to example in the world of free-transfer flops, Winston Bogarde made just nine Premier League appearances in four years at Stamford Bridge.
To their credit, the Blues signed the defender after he'd won back-to-back Primera Liga titles in 1998 and 1999, but it quickly became clear he would be of little use as he neared the end of his career.
Spending much of his Chelsea tenure in the reserves, Bogarde gleefully picked up his £40,000-a-week wages until the expiration of his contract in 2004, when he called time on his career having made a mint in west London.
His salary alone cost the Blues £8.32 million—or just under £1 million per league appearance.
Crystal Palace: Florian Marange
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Honourable Mention: Aaron Wilbraham
Getting on the bad side of one's manager isn't advisable under any circumstances, even less so when the boss in question is ex-Crystal Palace helmsman Ian Holloway.
But that was the mistake of former Eagles full-back Florian Marange, who took to Twitter to vent his frustrations, a contemporary calling card among footballers for when things take a downward spiral.
After arriving in August 2013, Marange was described as "slow" by Holloway, per the Daily Mail's Riath Al-Samarrai and failed to make the club's 25-man Premier League squad.
Just two months after arriving at Selhurst Park, the remainder of Marange's contract was cancelled and he was allowed to leave for pastures new.
Everton: James McFadden
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James McFadden is no inexperienced asset in the English top flight with 171 Premier League appearances to his name, per Transfermarkt, but the striker's second spell at Everton was a far cry from the first.
Having spent 13 months out of action with a crippling knee injury, McFadden was sent a lifeline by his former club and signed a nine-month deal at Goodison Park in October 2011.
The Glaswegian was made to wait almost seven months before making his second full debut for the Toffees, though, a sign of just what a fruitless investment re-signing him was.
Before leaving in the summer of 2012, McFadden managed eight first-team outings for Everton in his second tenure on Merseyside, including a grand total of 169 Premier League minutes with no goals to show for it.
Hull City: Nolberto Solano
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It's difficult to know in football when age genuinely begins to inhibit a player's ability at the top level, but it's fair to say Nolberto Solano had passed it by the time he joined Hull City in 2010.
The Peruvian presumably took full advantage of the connection he held with then-Tigers boss Nigel Pearson, whom he worked with at Leicester City and Newcastle United, with talent apparently a secondary requirement.
His sole campaign at the KC Stadium was unremarkable, and Solano's case appears to be one that proves it's not what you know but who you know.
Leicester City: Yann Kermorgant
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Honourable Mention: John Paintsil
Yann Kermorgant is something of a rarity on this list in that since leaving Leicester City in 2011, his career has actually taken a marked turn for the better.
However, it seems the King Power Stadium just wasn't the right environment for the French striker—now impressing at Bournemouth—despite all the initial signs he could be a Foxes success.
Kermorgant came to Leicester on trial after leaving Stade Reims and looked good value at first, but his struggles to adapt to life in England saw his two-and-half-year deal cut short.
Now scoring regularly in the Championship, Kermorgant's most infamous moment as a Leicester player came during the 2009-10 Championship playoff semi-finals, in which his infamous failed Panenka against Cardiff City aided in the Foxes' demise.
Liverpool: Milan Jovanovic
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Honourable Mention: Andriy Voronin
Milan Jovanovic will forever be regarded as a testament to that breed of player made to thrive in Europe's lower divisions but struggle to succeed at the top; Liverpool will only be glum it took their investment to find out.
The former Standard Liege ace commanded a salary of £60,000 at Anfield, and the Daily Mail reported in June 2011—11 months after his arrival in England—the Reds were struggling to pay his £2.5 million pay-off demands.
Jovanovic's contract dispute was eventually settled, and he returned to his former Belgian stomping ground with Anderlecht having made just 10 Premier League appearances.
If one player had to be chosen as the poster child of bad investments made during Roy Hodgson's time as Liverpool boss, ex-Serbia international Jovanovic would have to be it—though the agreement for his move was made under Rafael Benitez.
Manchester City: Owen Hargreaves
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Were it not for a long line of chronic knee injuries, a player such as Owen Hargreaves may never have featured on a list of this sort, but his deadline-day move to Manchester City in August 2011 proved to be a pointless one.
Not for Hargreaves, perhaps, who celebrated the club's first top-flight title win for 44 years at the end of his only season with the Citizens. However, having made just one Premier League appearance in the 2011-12 campaign, there was no winners' medal in sight for the ex-England international.
It may be due to the injuries suffered down the years or a genuine decline in ability, but Hargreaves' last gasps as a professional football player came at the Etihad Stadium, although he was almost anonymous during his time there.
Manchester United: Mark Bosnich
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The first of the numerous hopefuls signed to fill the gargantuan void left in Manchester United's squad by the departure of Peter Schmeichel, Mark Bosnich never quite lived up to the great Dane's standards.
In fact, the Australian didn't even come close after being brought in as a free transfer in 1999 for his second stint with the club but first real opportunity to shine under Sir Alex Ferguson as first-choice goalkeeper.
It didn't go well. Ferguson dipped back into the market before long to acquire first Massimo Taibi and then Fabien Barthez, with the Scot quoted in his second book, My Autobiography, as saying (h/t the Guardian's Tom Lutz):
"Mark Bosnich was a terrible professional. We played down at Wimbledon and Bosnich was tucking into everything: sandwiches, soups, steaks. He was going through the menu.
I told him, 'For Christ's sake, Mark, we've got the weight off you. Why are you tucking into all that stuff?' We arrived back in Manchester, and Mark was on mobile phone to a Chinese restaurant to order a takeaway. Is there no end to you? I just couldn't make an impact on him.
"
Upsetting Ferguson is certainly one way to limit one's prospects, and Bosnich's second spell with the Red Devils came to an end before it ever really began.
Newcastle United: Ronny Johnsen
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Upon signing for Manchester United in 1996, Ronny Johnsen became the most expensive Norwegian defender in history, but his Premier League career wouldn't end in the same glittering fashion.
As he edged toward his twilight years, the centre-back moved from Aston Villa to Newcastle United but managed only three league appearances in a sole season at St James' Park and was released amid concerns over his fitness.
Queens Park Rangers: Jose Bosingwa
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Honourable Mention: Joey Barton
Seemingly more than happy to splurge extravagant wages upon players who perhaps don't deserve them, Queens Park Rangers were always playing a risky game upon acquiring Jose Bosingwa in 2012.
Coming from Chelsea, the right-back's salary expectations were always going to be high, and the Hoops shelled out a considerable £65,000 a week in order to land his services.
However, team ethic and squad loyalties proved a weakness of Bosingwa's. The Daily Mail's Sami Mokbel reported that the player was laughing after their relegation was sealed in 2013, with Laure James writing he once refused to sit on the Rs' bench and was fined two weeks' wages as a result.
Harry Redknapp nevertheless tried to make use of a player who clearly had some talent but appeared a morally suspect individual during his time at Loftus Road.
Southampton: Ali Dia
14 of 20In the world of extensive scouting, fine-combed transfers and contracts signed to the greatest detail, it's something of a shame we'll never see deals like Ali Dia's emerge in elite football ever again.
As the attached video details, a contact claiming to be ex-Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan star George Weah told Graeme Souness that his cousin, Dia, was a player worth investigating.
Souness, then manager of Southampton, listened and promptly brought in the forward, who he thought had last turned out for Paris Saint-Germain and was a Liberia international.
Dia had never been close to the national team—his greatest credential up until that point was a solitary appearance for Blyth Spartans—and so goes one of the greatest hoaxes in Premier League history.
Dia made one appearance for the Saints, coming on as a substitute for Matt Le Tissier against Leeds United, before seeing his contract ripped up after just 14 days with the south coast club.
Stoke City: Michael Owen
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Honourable Mention: Vincent Pericard
It's not every player who can enjoy prolific scoring well into their twilight years, and for Michael Owen, one might well say his best days came as a teenager.
May 19, 2013: Owen played his final game as a professional at the end of a year-long deal with Stoke City, during which he made eight Premier League appearances for the Potters, all of which came from the bench.
It's leaps and bounds from the kid who was once scoring goals for fun at Anfield, but such is the cruel nature of football for some players, with Owen's days ending in a far dimmer light to that in which they began.
The former Real Madrid, Newcastle United and Manchester United frontman did manage one goal during his time at the Britannia, netting in a 3-1 defeat to Swansea City to end a 15-month goal drought.
Sunderland: Andrea Dossena
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Honourable Mention: James McFadden
Andrea Dossena was one of a few short-term solutions brought in by Sunderland in an attempt to fulfil their needs at left-back, with midfielder Jack Colback starring as the Black Cats' best option in that role for a lengthy period.
Perhaps none of those auditioned in the position coped worse than Dossena, who was shown a straight red card in just his second game back in the English top tier.
Unsurprisingly, Dossena didn't get a contract renewal at the Stadium of Light and made only a handful of appearances for Sunderland. The former Liverpool and Napoli defender is now at Leyton Orient despite featuring among the elite of England and Italy for much of his career.
Swansea City: Jordi Lopez
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Former Queens Park Rangers manager Paulo Sousa made Jordi Lopez his first signing upon moving to Swansea City in 2009, but the Spaniard was unable to repay that loyalty on the pitch.
Lopez served just 18 months of a two-year deal at the Liberty Stadium and failed to win over Brendan Rodgers when he took over the first-team reins.
There were high hopes upon the former Barcelona, Real Madrid and Sevilla youngster when he moved to Wales, which was undoubtedly part of the reason he fell so far short of expectations.
Tottenham Hotspur: Ryan Nelsen
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Honourable Mention: Milenko Acimovic
Before a hashed attempt to lead Toronto FC in their Major League Soccer endeavours, Ryan Nelsen wound down his Premier League days with a short spell at Tottenham Hotspur.
The New Zealander scored one goal in his eight appearances for the north Londoners between February 2012 and May 2012, a period which also coincided with Spurs' drastic drop in form that season.
Although by no means solely attributable to Nelsen in any way, the ageing defender stuck out as a less than satisfying stopgap during his time at White Hart Lane.
West Bromwich Albion: Diego Lugano
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Honourable Mention: Nicolas Anelka
Again, it's usually the case with free transfers that veterans tend to be the ones going for cheaper sums, and West Bromwich Albion fans will know full well why Diego Lugano was so readily available in 2013.
At his pinnacle, the former PSG and Uruguay centre-back was a rock, a monolith in defence. The Baggies, however, didn't see much of that version, only a more seasoned, slower Lugano.
Despite signing a two-year deal at the Hawthorns in 2013, Lugano was released after only one season with West Brom and didn't manage to record Premier League appearances in the double digits, suffering with a knee injury for much of his time there.
West Ham United: Mladen Petric
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Honourable Mention: John Carew
Some West Ham United fans might be surprised to hear the Mladen Petric once played under their banner, joining in the summer of 2013 to help ease the club's striker woes.
Before Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho were impressing at Upton Park, Sam Allardyce was struggling for talents in attack. Petric did not help much in that regard.
In December 2013—just three months into his Hammers stay—the Croatia international parted ways with the east Londoners having made just three appearances from the bench.
