No matter how rich the Premier League becomes, no matter how advanced the clubs’ recruitment strategies are and highly-paid their scouts, every year there are a host of expensive flops.
‘Winning the transfer window‘ might sound nice on September 1 but when it comes to the final days of the season and we’ve seen these shiny new recruits for what they really are, clubs may not be so happy.
Here, we have picked out the 20 worst signings of the Premier League season – not just the least productive, but also the big-money deals that did not live up to expectations. In total, these 20 players cost their clubs £850MILLION – and have produced a combined total of 28 goals and 26 assists, or just over a goal and an assist per player.
But who was the worst of the bunch? We’ve ranked them from 20 to 1 – find out who comes out bottom of the pile, and have your say in the comments.
20. DAN NDOYE (Nottingham Forest, £34m)
Nottingham Forest were supposed to kick on after getting into Europe and recruiting a Swiss international on a five-year deal was part of that plan.
Ndoye, who scored the only goal in the Coppa Italia final to win Bologna their first trophy in 50 years, started well enough with a goal and an assist in his first two games. Since then, he’s not managed another goal or assist in the Premier League in 22 appearances, and isn’t doing much to write home about in Europe.
Having fallen down the pecking order under Vitor Pereira, file this one under the ‘expected more’ category.
Dan Ndoye started well enough for Forest with a goal and an assist in his first two games. Since then, he’s not managed another goal or assist in the Premier League in 22 appearances
19. BEN GANNON-DOAK (Bournemouth, £25m)
Bournemouth believed they had stolen a march on many rivals by snagging Gannon-Doak from Liverpool, who inserted a buy-back clause into the deal.
Truth be told, this has been a stressful and miserable campaign for the winger, who has never had the chance to get going due to a serious hamstring problem which kept him out for four months.
One start and a total of 68 minutes of Premier League football mean the 20-year-old has effectively lost a season. Bournemouth just hope their care and their patience pays off in 2026-27.
Ben Gannon-Doak, a £25m signing from Liverpool, loses his footing in training for Bournemouth where…