Premier League

Arsenal and Man Utd swap was one of 10 worst January transfers in Premier League history

Arsenal's Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alexis Sanchez compete for the ball

It will take something special to break into this top ten of the worst Premier League signings ever made in the January transfer window. Oh Arsenal/Man Utd.

 

10) Chris Samba (QPR – £12.5m, 2013)
Samba would be a lot higher on this list had QPR not somehow managed to persuade Anzhi Makhachkala to pay £12m to re-sign the central defender six months after they had somehow persuaded QPR to pay £12.5m for him. Funny how both of those clubs ended up a financial clusterf*ck, isn’t it?

Harry Redknapp signed Samba, called him “a monster” and talked up his ability to keep QPR solid defensively and thus move the club away from relegation trouble. He played 10 matches in which QPR conceded 19 times, failed to keep a clean sheet after his debut and apologised to supporters for his performance in a 3-2 defeat to Fulham. QPR were relegated and Samba was off. Sterling work.

 

9) Kostas Mitroglou (Fulham – £13m, 2014)
The Premier League did not see the best of Mitroglou. The Premier League did not see much of Mitroglou at all. A player previously known as ‘Mitrogoals’ for his scoring record would have been better rechristened with teammate Steve Sidwell’s fond nickname: “This f**ker.”

Having scored 41 times in 92 league games for an Olympiacos team which walked the Greek league, Fulham spent £13m – a club record fee – to bring Mitroglou to England and save them from relegation. He would start one league game between his arrival and Fulham’s relegation in May, playing 151 minutes in total.

By August, Mitroglou had gone back on loan to Olympiacos and the next month scored the winner against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. The following night, Fulham lost 5-3 away at Nottingham Forest. Supporters must have wondered what on earth had happened.

 

8) Jean Makoun (Aston Villa – £6m, 2011)
Just as you can’t write a list of shonky transfers without including QPR and West Ham, Aston Villa also have to feature. Makoun arrived from Lyon as a highly-rated midfielder. He was aged 27 and had played 36 times in the Champions League in the previous six seasons. He had started victories over Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester United and Milan in that competition.

“He is an experienced player. He is a proper link between the midfield and the strikers,” manager Gerard Houllier said. “He has played in the Champions League. He’ll be a good asset for the future.”

Makoun looked sloppy on his debut, got a straight red card for a dreadful…

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