10 Most Disappointing Signings Of Premier League Season – Ranked

In the English top division – Premier League this season, there have been several transfer blunders, but which is the worst of them all?

During the course of the two 2022–2023 transfer windows, Premier League clubs spent slightly under £5 billion ($6 billion) on new players, setting new records for spending. This excessive culture persisted until last summer. When the summer market closed on September 1, Deloitte reported a final outlay of £2.36 billion ($3 billion), smashing the previous record mark by £440 million ($550 million). This raised concerns about an unsustainable future for the English premier league.

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The other clubs in England’s top division tightened their purse strings in response to Everton and Nottingham Forest’s violations of profit and sustainability rules (PSR), which resulted in point deductions for both teams. This led to a surge in loan deals and free transfers. Even yet, an additional £96 million ($120 million) was spent during the winter window, pushing the campaign’s total spending above the £3 billion threshold. As the campaign draws to an end, several teams may now be second-guessing their hiring choices.

Some players have not even come close to earning their enormous prices, while others have hardly been worth the time and energy to pursue in the first place and might not have another opportunity to establish themselves in the Premier League.

THEEAGLE has ranked the 10 most disappointing signings of the 2023-24 season below, starting with a Dutchman who has struggled to hit the ground running on Merseyside…

Matheus Nunes – Manchester City (£53m)

It felt like a stretch at the time, but Matheus Nunes’ £53 million ($66 million) move from Wolves to Manchester City came with a billing as “one of the world’s best players” from Pep Guardiola, who put undue pressure on the Portuguese midfielder. Nunes has, predictably, fallen short of that claim. He has only started seven Premier League games, five of which have been against clubs in the bottom six.

Nunes hasn’t looked out of place on the rare occasions he has featured for City – he remains a masterful ball=carrier who can operate in the tightest of areas – but he gives up possession more often than City’s first-choice technicians such as Bernardo Silva, mainly because he often goes for the risky passes instead of taking the simple option.

Guardiola only really uses Nunes when City are in a comfortable position in games, which shows he doesn’t yet enjoy the manager’s full trust. The situation is salvageable for the 25-year-old, who still has the prime years of his career ahead of him, but he will have fully embrace City’s unique tactical philosophy and work hard to improve his ball retention during pre-season.

Robert Sanchez – Chelsea (£25m)

More than a few eyebrows were raised when Chelsea forked out £25m ($31m) to sign Robert Sanchez, who was displaced as Brighton’s first-choice goalkeeper by Jason Steele in his final season on the South Coast. The Blues were still hopeful that Sanchez would be an upgrade on Kepa Arrizabalaga and Edouard Mendy, the latter of whom departed for Saudi Arabia last summer, but he was just as error-prone as that divisive duo in the first half of the season.

In the second, Djordje Petrovic has proven to be more than simply a stand-in as Chelsea’s form has steadily improved under Mauricio Pochettino. However, fitness issues have made Sanchez’s problems worse. After a dismal first season at Stamford Bridge, Sanchez is unlikely to make it back to the No. 1 shirt at this point and is nearly guaranteed to be left off of Spain’s Euro 2024 squad.

Sofyan Amrabat – Manchester United (loan)

The majority of casual fans first became aware of Sofyan Amrabat during the 2022 World Cup, when he led an underdog Morocco team all the way to the semifinals and gained notoriety for a lung-busting lunge and tackle on Kylian Mbappe. As a result, after Amrabat’s loan move from Fiorentina, United supporters thought he would be the solution to their long-standing defensive midfield problems. However, he hasn’t given Erik ten Hag’s team quite the same amount of effort.

Amrabat is one of United’s most reckless players when he gets the ball, which has made him a liability defensively because he is frequently caught out of position. The 27-year-old’s need to fill a variety of roles due to a backlog of injuries to important players hasn’t helped, but he doesn’t seem to have the energy or excitement for complete 90-minute games anymore.

United certainly won’t miss Amrabat when he heads back to Fiorentina, and he will be remembered as little more than another panic purchase highlighting just how disorganised the club’s recruitment has been in recent years.

Christopher Nkunku – Chelsea (£52m)

It is challenging to fully evaluate Christopher Nkunku’s debut year at Stamford Bridge because he has missed 39 games due to injuries for Chelsea this season. However, there were indicators at RB Leipzig regarding his fitness, and the Blues disregarded them when offering the forward from France a six-year contract following a £52 million ($65 million) agreement with the Bundesliga team.

Nkunku has performed admirably overall in his 12 appearances for Chelsea, but his two goals and zero assists in those contests show that he is still not at peak physical fitness. When Nkunku was at Leipzig, he was an explosive, nimble forward who terrified opposing defences. He can play as a winger, a No. 9, or even a conventional No. 10. Throughout the preseason, he and fellow summer acquisition Nicolas Jackson appeared to be gelling well, but Chelsea needs attackers they can count on to perform well every single week.

It’s important that Nkunku doesn’t rush his return to the pitch after his latest fitness setback, or else he may never become the same talismanic presence for the Blues as he was for Leipzig.

Ansu Fati – Brighton (loan)

Ansu Fati was once considered to be Lionel Messi’s successor at Barcelona, but it seems like such a long time ago. The Spaniard burst onto the senior stage at Camp Nou as a 16-year-old in 2019 and looked almost like a street footballer with his dazzling dribbling skills, but soon succumbed to a series of injuries that cost him a regular place in the team.

Ansu’s status became even more obscure with the rise of Lamine Yamal, and Brighton took advantage of this uncertainty by arranging a record-breaking loan agreement for him last summer. In his first five Premier League appearances for the Seagulls, Ansu scored twice, but it quickly became apparent that his body could not withstand the physical demands of the English game.

Ansu missed the entire Christmas break due to a calf injury, and since his comeback to the starting lineup in February, he hasn’t done enough to earn a spot in De Zerbi’s lineup. The Brighton manager acknowledged that Ansu’s fitness is still a major problem. The 21-year-old’s brief tenure at the Amex has only served to stoke doubts among those who doubt his ability to develop into a top player, and it’s unclear how he will fit in at Barca if he rejoins Xavi’s team.

Andre Onana – Manchester United (£48m)

After David de Gea’s contract at Old Trafford expired in June of last year, the United team was in dire need of an improvement. Andre Onana seemed to be the perfect fit for the position, having helped Inter to the 2023 Champions League final. Following an impressive third-place Premier League finish, United were commended for signing a ‘keeper recognised for his ability to play out from the back’ in Ten Hag, who had previously worked with Onana at Ajax.

However, in his debut campaign at Old Trafford, Onana hasn’t looked like a £48 million ($60 million) goalie. After witnessing the Cameroonian international fumble at crosses, allow easy shots to get through his gloves, and remain planted to his goalline when the United defence is repeatedly evaded, many fans would actually welcome De Gea back with open arms.

Onana has actually made more saves than any other ‘keeper in the Premier League this season, but that’s only because United have conceded the second-highest number of shots – just ahead of bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United. The former Inter man can’t hide behind misleading statistics; he’s fallen well short of the required standards when it comes to basic handling and positioning, and even his kicking has been wildly unpredictable, making him a box-office watch for all the wrong reasons.

Sandro Tonali – Newcastle (£60m)

When Sandro Tonali finally completed his £60 million ($75 million) transfer from AC Milan last summer, he became the most expensive acquisition in Newcastle’s history, but they didn’t feel like they overpaid. After the Magpies qualified for the Champions League, Tonali was just the kind of statement signing that the team needed. He solidified his reputation as one of the best playmakers in Italy throughout his tenure at San Siro.

Or at least he would have been, had Newcastle done their proper due diligence. Tonali scored in a spectacular debut showing against Aston Villa and settled into life on Tyneside quickly, only to be hit with a 10-month suspension in October for breaching gambling rules during his time at Milan.

The whole saga has been embarrassing for Newcastle, who blew most of their summer budget on a player that had been struggling with a gambling addiction. He will be allowed to play for the club again from August, but the damage has already been done, as a lack of cohesion in midfield led to the Magpies missing out on silverware once again while losing their place in the Champions League.

Kalvin Phillips – West Ham (loan)

Phillips’ first seasons at Manchester City was massively underwhelming, despite the fact he was part of a squad that won a historic treble. The England international didn’t really contribute to those trophy successes, and has never convinced Guardiola, who publicly criticised him for returning from the Qatar World Cup overweight.

West Ham offered Phillips an escape route from his Etihad nightmare in January, but the loan switch hasn’t shaken the 28-year-old back into life. He opened his Hammers career with two huge errors that led to goals against Bournemouth and Manchester United, and then got himself sent off in a 2-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest, with Moyes quickly losing faith in his ability as a starter.

Phillips returned to City early due to a calf injury, and Guardiola will surely look to offload him permanently in the summer, because he is no longer even close to the level he was when he initially moved to Manchester from Leeds United in 2022. The Euros will almost certainly pass Phillips by as a result, and he’s going to have to completely transform himself in order to get back into the England fold in the future.

Mason Mount – Manchester United (£55m)

Mason Mount was not needed by United. Most outsiders saw that when he finalised his contentious £55 million ($69 million) transfer from Chelsea in June of last year.

Mount was most effective when he played as No. 10 for Chelsea, where he controlled the press and was free to express himself on the ball. However, Bruno Fernandes performs a similar role at Old Trafford, so Ten Hag has inevitably failed to find a method to incorporate both players into his system.

The Dutchman appeared equally devoid of confidence at United after leaving Chelsea during his worst-ever season. He also went for Mount. Because of persistent fitness problems, Mount has only made 14 Premier League matches to far; yet, he had a remarkably minimal role in those appearances.

This version of Mount on the teamsheet won’t help United return to the top; the 25-year-old appears to have lost interest in and enthusiasm for the game, adding yet more headache to an apparently unending list of issues for the club.

Moises Caicedo – Chelsea (£115m)

Liverpool attempted to match Chelsea’s incredible £115 million ($147 million) offer, but Chelsea beat them by smashing the British transfer record to entice Moises Caicedo away from Brighton. Though the Ecuadorian was the major reason the Seagulls punch so much above their weight during his two years at the Amex Stadium, defensive midfielders do not typically command that kind of money.

The Blues needed Caicedo to be a real game-changer right from the off, and he crumbled under the weight of expectation. He always led the way for tackles and interceptions at Brighton, but wasn’t breaking up the play nearly as effectively for Chelsea, and seemed to be lacking the composure that had been a staple of his game.

To Caicedo’s credit, he has finished the campaign strongly, and it’s easy to forget he’s still just 22-years-old, while he also had to remain professional during a period when he feared for his family’s safety amid a wave of violence in his homeland. But there is just no escaping that price tag, and as of right now, Caicedo must be considered a massive failure.