January is a month where clubs can upgrade, and bolster their squads ahead of the rest of the campaign. Time is limited, but if the right player becomes available, a deal can be struck. They do not always work out though.
Here are five of the worst January signings of all time.
Alexis Sanchez – Arsenal to Manchester United
In January 2018, it was announced that Sánchez had completed a transfer to Manchester United, in a swap deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan move the opposite way.
Sanchez had previously lit up the Premier League at Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal, and was running down his contract, making a cheap move to Manchester a tempting option for Manchester United.
The 60 goals he scored for Arsenal in his four years in north London was a healthy and successful return, signing for £31.7M in July 2014. His move to Manchester United was nothing short of a disaster. In his 45 Manchester United appearances, he scored a grand total of three Premier League goals, and five in all competitions. He was shipped out on loan of to Inter Milan in the summer of 2019, after an underwhelming spell at United. A year later, he signed permanently for Inter. One to forget for Manchester United.
Fernando Torres – Liverpool to Chelsea
Fernando Torres scored arguably one of the biggest goals in Chelsea’s recent history against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final. However, his £50M move from Liverpool to Chelsea was met with a lot of hype, excitement and promise.
El Nino had been breathtaking during his time at Anfield, and became a cult hero before swapping Merseyside for west London. But it took a while for the Spaniard to get going, scoring his first Chelsea goal in the pouring rain at the Bridge against West Ham. That was his tenth appearance for Chelsea, and he finally broke his duck.
Over three and a half season’s Torres only managed to score 20 Premier League goals, and is responsible for one of the worst misses in Premier League history. His infamous miss at Old Trafford is still spoke about today.
He did contribute for Chelsea, and he did win a Champions League along the way, but for the money that was spent on the striker, he did not live up to expectations. Especially after his glowing spell at Liverpool.
Andy Carroll – Newcastle to Liverpool
This transfer came about as a consequence of Torres’ move to Chelsea. Liverpool needed a new striker, and Andy Carroll was bought for £35M from Newcastle. The English striker had caught the eye, scoring 11 goals in 19 appearances in the 2010/11 season.
In his fifth appearance for Liverpool, he got his first goals for the club, in a 3-0 win over Manchester City at Anfield in April 2011. His next goal did not come until October 2011, in the Merseyside derby.
Overall, he tallied just eleven goals for Liverpool, in what was seen as a complete flop of a move. However, he did earn himself a call up for England for Euro 2012, where he scored against Sweden in a 3-2 win.
Carroll’s best days arguably were during his first spell at Newcastle, but he moved onto West Ham after his torrid time in Liverpool, and was largely successful in East London.
Kostas Mitroglou – Olympiakos to Fulham
When you are in a relegation battle, you need a goalscorer. Fulham were intertwined in a relegation battle at the bottom of the Premier League. Martin Jol was sacked and in came former Manchester United assistant coach René Meulensteen.
After the untimely departure of striker Dimitar Berbatov, Fulham were on the hunt for a replacement in a bid to beat the drop. On deadline day, Fulham were busy. Johnny Heitinga and Lewis Holtby came through the door but a striker was the real priority. Mitroglou was signed before the window slammed shut for a club record fee of £12.4M. It seemed at the time, a positive move. It turned out to be far from that.
He made a total of three Premier League appearances, starting once. Scoring no goals as Fulham, who did make a fist of it, were relegated after a 13 year spell in the top flight. It was the wrong player at the wrong time for Fulham, and a transfer that fans look back in horror at.
Guido Carrillo – Monaco to Southampton
The Saints signed the Argentinian striker for £19.1M in January 2018, as Mauricio Pellegrino was given the license to spend after selling Virgil Van Dijk to Liverpool for £75M. Carrillo was signed from Monaco, and give his fee, a lot was expected from him.
It is fair to say the move did not go to plan. He made ten starts in all competitions, three in the FA Cup and seven in the Premier League. Carrillo mustered up an assist in each competition, but he failed to get on the scoresheet at all.
He also failed to impress new manager Mark Hughes, who gave him two of his ten starts. In the end, Carrillo was loaned out to Leganes in Spain in the same summer, a complete waste of money and a name that few remember at St. Mary’s.
