Saturday 27 June 2015

Top 10 overpriced Premier League players

Plenty of millions were squandered last season in the Barclays Premier League with Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool among the culprits.

You've got to spend big to think big in the modern game, but that doesn't always pay off with £238.8million worth of talent making our list.

Here is Sportsmail's top 10 overpriced players from last season in the land of untold riches.



10. Juan Cuadrado, Chelsea (£26.8m, from Fiorentina on February 2, 2015)

Reported wages: £85,000 per week

The only signing who joined their club after Christmas to feature in our list.

Cuadrado signed for £23.3m, rising to £26.8m, from Fiorentina in early February, while Mohamed Salah went the other way on loan.

Jose Mourinho argued he wanted to give the Colombia winger time to adapt to English football, yet just 12 appearances is not what Cuadrado had in mind when he moved to England.

Sure, owner Roman Abramovich can take the near-£27m hit, but that remains a pretty penny to waste on a player who, with zero goals and no assists, Chelsea did not need to win the title.


 


9. Remy Cabella, Newcastle (£12m from Montpellier on July 13, 2014)

Reported wages: £60,000 per week

For Newcastle United, or owner Mike Ashley rather, £12m is a lot of money to waste.

And, after one goal all season with the club battling relegation, it looked £12m too much.

Cabella joined from Montpellier on a six-year deal, and Newcastle got little for their fee.

His only strike came on January 31 in a 3-0 win against eventually-relegated Hull City.

Emmanuel Riviere at £6m came close to being included on this list but, at twice the price, his team-mate Cabella represents the boys in black and white. An overpriced failure so far.



8. Jack Rodwell, Sunderland (£10m from Manchester City on August 5, 2014)

Reported wages: £64,000 per week

Rodwell cost Sunderland £10m from Manchester City, and was understood to be put on extravagant £64,000-per-week wages too.

He was offered the chance to revive his stuttering career at the Stadium of Light, but Sunderland may live to regret their five-year deal and hefty salary, particularly given the midfielder's injury record since 2010.

He was tipped for greatness at the age of just 12 by Everton coaches, and even Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson agonised over a move previously. So too did Jose Mourinho when at Real Madrid, but Rodwell made just seven starts in two years at Manchester City.

Rodwell ended up at Sunderland, where he has yet to establish himself. More is needed.



7. Filipe Luis, Chelsea (£16m from Atletico Madrid on July 16, 2014)

Reported wages: £75,000 per week

Another signing who, like Cuadrado, Mourinho hardly needed to win the Premier League title.

The left-back cost £16m but got used to being an unused substitute at Chelsea, playing second fiddle to the unmovable Cesar Azpilicueta.

Recently, Luis was linked with a move back to Atletico Madrid, where he spent four years and enjoyed 127 appearances in La Liga.

Chelsea are even reportedly looking at West Ham's Aaron Cresswell this summer with Luis seemingly still the forgotten man in west London.

True, £16m may be a drop in the ocean for owner Abramovich, but that's enough of a waste to make it to No 7 in our list.



6. Dejan Lovren, Liverpool (£20m from Southampton on July 27, 2014)

Reported wages: £70,000 per week

Brendan Rodgers loves giving money to Southampton, it seems. Should Liverpool capture Nathaniel Clyne, the manager will have spent £61.5m on Saints stars in a year.

And £20m of that was of Lovren, who endured a difficult start to his career at Anfield.

By December, he had made two mistakes directly leading to goals and was heavily criticised for their 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford.

Sportsmail's Jamie Carragher pointed out last summer that his defensive errors went unnoticed at Southampton, yet there are a lot more eyes on you at Liverpool.

He has gradually improved and could eventually become a £20m player, but not quite yet.



5. Mario Balotelli, Liverpool (£16m from AC Milan on August 21, 2014)

Reported wages: £90,000 per week

There was a buzz of excitement when former Manchester City striker Balotelli was confirmed as returning to England, costing Liverpool £16m as they tried to fill the gap left by Luis Suarez.

Yet that fee, as well as £90,000-per-week wages, returned just one goal.

He is the unwanted man at Liverpool, and Balotelli may even prove difficult to sell.

The Italy international wants to stay at Anfield, but will he become worth his £16m investment next season? If his last showing in the Premier League was anything to go by, then not quite.



4. Luke Shaw, Man Utd (£30m from Southampton on June 27, 2014)

Reported wages: £90,000 per week

A year today since Shaw, at the age of just 18, joined Manchester United for £30m.

He may prove us wrong in five or six years, given he is far from the finished product, yet so far the left-back has struggled to get to grips at his new club and was a costly investment.

Injuries haven't helped, nor has his manager publicly questioning the teenager's fitness.

He has potential, but £30m and wages of £90,000 per week brings plenty of expectation, especially in that famous red shirt.

Shaw awarded himself a C minus for last season, yet that is not what United paid for. They demand an A-plus student, and Shaw must show he can be that in the near future.



3. Angel di Maria, Man Utd (£60m from Real Madrid on August 26, 2014)

Reported wages: £200,000 per week

Di Maria managed 10 assists, scored that ridiculous chipped goal against Leicester City, yet his debut season in England did not match his £60m fee.

The winger broke the British transfer record when he joined Manchester United from Real Madrid, but supporters are yet to see the maestro who dominated La Liga for four years.

After a promising start, he tailed off, and even found himself on the substitutes' bench regularly.

Louis van Gaal told the Argentina international in May that he must shape up or leave, yet they would struggle to get their record-breaking fee back for the 27-year-old attacker.



2. Radamel Falcao, Man Utd (£6m loan from Monaco on September 2, 2014)

Reported wages: £280,000 per week

A £6m fee for the loan, and £280,000-per-week wages – yet Manchester United's total cost of £14,609,700 to have Falcao for the season boiled down to four goals and as many assists.

He became the joke of the Premier League, being paid so much to do so little.

Van Gaal opted against signing the striker after his loan ended, sending him back to Monaco.

Yet Mourinho feels he can do more with the forward, who was so bad for Colombia at Copa America recently that Chelsea supporters begged their manager to reconsider.

Chelsea owner Abramovich could afford it, yet even a £4m loan fee with £170,000-per-week wages – far cheaper than what United paid – would seem a risk for the once-great forward.



1. Eliaquim Mangala, Man City (£42m from Porto on August 11, 2014)

Reported wages: £100,000 per week

Initial reports that Mangala cost £31.9m – still not a cheap fee – were incorrect.

The defender from Porto was understood to actually cost closer to £42m, making him our champion of overpriced players.

To put it in perspective, Mangala cost more than twice as much as Crystal Palace's entire team, and didn't get off the bench when Manchester City lost 2-1 at Selhurst Park on April 6.

Being British football's most expensive defender has been a burden, and Mangala even admitted in an interview with Sportsmail that the Premier League proved tougher than he expected.

Mangala was an expensive liability for manager Manuel Pellegrini last season as City finished runners-up to Chelsea, and it was as if he was on trial every time he pulls on that baby blue shirt.


Credit: Kieran Gill/SportsMail

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