Worst XI of 2014/15 Premier League Signings
Premier League football clubs spent a huge £965 million on new players across the 2014/15 summer and winter transfer windows, but it wasn't all money well spent.
In addition to the hit buys in England's top flight—such as Diego Costa, Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas—there were a number of flops, like Dejan Lovren, Radamel Falcao and Eliaquim Mangala, and in this slideshow we take a look at a worst XI.
Poor performances, few appearances, lack of goals, hefty price tags and more—there are a lot of factors that determine why these players failed to make an impact this term.
Read on to see which names failed to impress.
Honourable Mentions
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- Abel Hernandez: Palermo to Hull City
- Jack Rodwell: Manchester City to Sunderland
- Jake Livermore: Tottenham Hotspur to Hull City
- Rickie Lambert: Southampton to Liverpool
- Steven Caulker: Cardiff City to Queens Park Rangers
- Michel Vorm: Swansea City to Tottenham Hotspur
- Fernando: FC Porto to Manchester City
- Rio Ferdinand: Free agent to Queens Park Rangers
- Brown Ideye: Dynamo Kiev to West Bromwich Albion
- Luke Shaw: Southampton to Manchester United
- Mauro Zarate: Velez Sarsfield to West Ham United to Queens Park Rangers (on loan)
GK: Willy Caballero
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Manchester City signed Willy Caballero last summer for a fee reported to reach up to £6 million, as seen on BBC Sport.
The Argentinian goalkeeper came to the Etihad on the back of three successful years at La Rosaleda with Malaga, where he racked up 133 appearances for Manuel Pellegrini's former side.
Brought in as competition for Joe Hart, Caballero was always going to be second choice this season. However, on the few occasions he was called upon, he did little to put any pressure on the England No. 1.
In total, the 33-year-old made seven appearances for City in 2014/15, two of which were wins in the Premier League. Yet, as well as letting three past him in the season-opening Community Shield against Arsenal, in domestic cup competition, Caballero was between the sticks on four occasions—in which City beat Sheffield Wednesday twice but were eliminated from both the League and FA Cup, against Newcastle United and Middlesbrough, respectively.
After being voted runner-up as La Liga's best goalkeeper for two season's running, along with Thibaut Courtois and Victor Valdes, we expected to see more from Caballero this term.
RB: Bacary Sagna
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In terms of value for money, Bacary Sagna's move from Arsenal to Manchester City cannot be faulted—the 32-year-old joining the Citizens on a free transfer, following seven years at the Emirates.
However, City have failed to impress on many occasions this season. They also have the oldest squad in the Premier League (h/t the Daily Mail) and look set for a huge clear-out in the coming months. This raises the question—why did Manuel Pellegrini opt to bring in Sagna? It was a move that smacked of short-term thinking.
After featuring in 35 matches for the Gunners last season, the Frenchman was restricted to just eight starts in the top flight in 2014/15 and did little to put pressure on Pablo Zabaleta’s place in City's starting XI.
Despite telling Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News that he had no regrets about leaving Arsenal, perhaps it would have been better for all parties if Sagna had remained with Arsene Wenger’s side.
CB: Dejan Lovren
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"This is a very important signing for us," said Brendan Rodgers on BBC Sport in July, shortly after spending £20 million on Southampton centre-back Dejan Lovren.
The fifth player to arrive at Anfield following Luis Suarez's summer departure, the Croatian's price tag made him the Reds' most expensive defensive signing and he was, they hoped, a perfect candidate to fill the Jamie Carragher-shaped hole that has troubled the Liverpool back line since 2013.
It didn't quite work out that way.
In Rodgers’ starting XI on 22 occasions in the Premier League, the 25-year-old is yet to convince. The player who impressed so much for the Saints last season all-but disappeared, replaced instead by one whose poor decision-making, positional sense and lack of confidence has contributed greatly to Liverpool's struggles in Europe and domestically this term.
By April, with Kolo Toure selected ahead of Lovren for a league tie against Arsenal, Rodgers told the Guardian's Andy Hunter, "The thing with Kolo is he gives me everything every single day so I know what I am going to get with him." It was hardly a ringing endorsement for the man he was replacing.
Lovren was on the bench for Liverpool's recent 6-1 mauling at the hands of Stoke City. It's clear that, over the summer, the Reds have a lot of work to do.
CB: Eliaquim Mangala
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With top-class defenders something of a rarity on the transfer market in recent times, Manchester City had to pay a vastly inflated £32 million when they signed Eliaquim Mangala to a five-year deal last August.
The second player to swap Estadio do Dragao for the Etihad this season, along with the relatively budget-friendly Fernando (£12 million), Mangala's Porto career had earned him a reputation as The Next Big Thing in central defence.
As City boss Manuel Pellegrini told BBC Sport, "He has all of the mental, physical, technical and tactical attributes to become one of Europe's very best defenders. Eliaquim is a player I believe will make an immediate impact in the Premier League."
Perhaps it's just a case of bedding in, but the Frenchman has had a decidedly average start to life in English football, where the inconsistent form of fellow centre-back Vincent Kompany has done little to help his cause.
It's no coincidence that three City players appear in this slideshow—the club's transfer policy is in need of serious overhaul.
LB: Ben Davies
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The player who so impressed when given his chance by Michael Laudrup—and later, Garry Monk—at Swansea City had struggled in his first season with Tottenham Hotspur.
Unable to displace Danny Rose as Mauricio Pochettino's preferred choice at left-back, Ben Davies has just seven Premier League starts to his name in 2014/15.
When he received game time, he stuttered, making several glaring errors in top-flight ties against Swansea and Southampton—a rough season encapsulated by being stretchered off with a dislocated shoulder in the latter.
The 22-year-old went to White Hart Lane for £10 million, along with team-mate Michel Vorm, as part of a deal that saw Gylfi Sigurdsson heading the other way. Unfortunately for Davies and Vorm, so far it's the Swans who profited most from the move.
RW: Angel Di Maria
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Less than 12 months after penning a five-year deal with Manchester United, Angel Di Maria is being linked with a move away from Old Trafford.
That goes some way to explaining what a let down the 27-year-old’s first season has been in English football.
Things started brightly, with the former Real Madrid man notching four assists and three goals in his first six games for United, including this excellent chip against Leicester City.
Since then, form and consistency have trailed off, with a further six assists high notes in a campaign that has seen Di Maria spend nine games on the sidelines, receive a sending off against Arsenal in the FA Cup and feature in reports of unhappiness—following an attempted burglary at his home (h/t Jason Burt of the Telegraph).
It has been a disappointing season for Di Maria, who is now being linked with a move to Bayern Munich in Bild (h/t Joe Short in the Express).
Despite the outrageous talent that we all know that he has in droves, for a record fee of £59.7 million, we expected more.
DM: Sandro
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Signed by former Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp, following four years at White Hart Lane, Sandro cost Queens Park Rangers £10 million when he came to Loftus Road last summer.
It wasn't a season to remember for the Brazilian midfielder.
In his first nine games for QPR, the 26-year-old started eight, was benched for one and played a full 90 minutes on just two occasions. In November he began a spell on the sidelines that would see him miss 14 games through injury—a knee problem that he picked up when celebrating a goal in training with a knee slide, as reported by Sami Mokbel in the Daily Mail.
In March, Sandro was back in action, appearing in nine more outings for the Hoops. However, by May 10—with relegation to the Championship already confirmed—it was announced that he would not take any further part in his side's campaign due to work permit issues, as seen on the club's official website.
LW: Hatem Ben Arfa
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For the purposes of this slideshow, we are playing Hatem Ben Arfa in the left-wing position that we saw in his early days at Newcastle United, Lyon and Marseille.
He is, without doubt, one of the worst and most confusing transfer stories of the 2014/15 season.
A player who has always threatened brilliance, yet delivered so little, the Frenchman started the campaign on the Magpies' books, before being offered a loan move to Hull City.
He clocked up a total of 383 minutes of football across eight games for Steve Bruce's side, but by December it was announced that his short-term deal would be cut even shorter, with Bruce telling Sky Sports, "He didn't deserve to be in the team on merit."
Unwanted by both Hull and Newcastle, the 28-year-old attempted to join Ligue 1 side Nice in January, following news of his terminated contract at St. James' Park. However, as seen on BBC Sport, a move was halted by FIFA, whose rules state that a player cannot represent more than two clubs in one season.
"I do not understand why they would try to stop me from playing in France, my home," Ben Arfa said. "Why always try to create problems where there are none?"
Recent reports from Sky Sports suggest that he will represent Nice next season. Stay tuned for more drama from the former France international.
STR: Emmanuel Riviere
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Emmanuel Riviere signed for Newcastle United just months after revealing that it was his dream to play football in England.
Perhaps it didn't bode well that the striker told L'Equipe (h/t Anthony Chapman of the Express) that, "I was dreaming of Arsenal. You have to believe and never let go," before pitching up at St. James' Park.
It has been a torrid season for the Magpies who, desperate for goals, stared relegation in the face in 2014/15.
Brought in from Monaco, where he scored 13 strikes last term, Riviere failed to impress in the north-east and didn't manage to find the back of the net in a Premier League game until the penultimate fixture of the season—a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the already-relegated Queens Park Rangers.
Arriving for a fee thought to be in the region of £5 million (per the Newcastle Chronicle's Lee Ryder), that was one very pricey goal.
STR: Radamel Falcao
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On deadline day last summer, Manchester United paid through the nose to acquire the services of Radamel Falcao on a season-long loan.
A world-class striker of the highest order, with a rich back catalogue of goals for FC Porto, Atletico Madrid and Monaco, it was hard not to get excited about the prospect of El Tigre tearing into top-flight defences.
Knowing full well that Falcao had missed the 2014 World Cup due to a cruciate ligament injury, Premier League watchers waited patiently for the Colombian to show up.
With the season now well and truly over, they are still waiting.
Falcao managed four goals in his 26 league outings for Louis van Gaal's side—the same as centre-back Chris Smalling and two less than the much-maligned Marouane Fellaini.
On approximately £265,000-a-week at Old Trafford (per BBC Sport), Falcao has been a shadow of his former self this season.
STR: Mario Balotelli
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Liverpool, flush with money from the sale of Luis Suarez, made several pricey purchases during the 2014 summer transfer window.
One such buy was Mario Balotelli, who signed for the Anfield side for £16 million in August.
"I think we have done a really smart piece of business here," Reds manager Brendan Rodgers told BBC Sport. "This transfer represents outstanding value for the club."
Except things didn't quite turn out that way. The striker, formerly of Inter Milan and Manchester City, was branded a "rotten apple" by club owner Silvio Berlusconi (in Gazzetta dello Sport, h/t Charlie Skillen in the Daily Mail), upon leaving San Siro for Liverpool.
The 24-year-old managed one league goal across 16 games, averaged a shot accuracy rate of 56 percent (per Squawka) and did not register a single assist.
With Daniel Sturridge injured, Suarez departed and the only incoming strikers Balotelli and then-32-year-old Rickie Lambert, Liverpool failed miserably to address issues up front this season.
All player information comes from Transfermarkt.com and ESPNFC.com, unless stated otherwise.
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