Top 5 transfer flops of the 2021/22 Premier League season

The 2021/22 Premier League season has come to an end which means we can now properly review after 38 games, this time focusing on the arrivals.

All 20 teams brought in at least one new player in the summer and winter transfer windows and quite a number of the newcomers failed to live up to expectations.

Perhaps the weight of expectations proved too heavy or they just failed to adapt to their new surroundings, all that matters is that it didn’t work out this season.

So without further ado, here are the five biggest transfer flops of the 2021/22 Premier League season, factoring in transfer fees and the reputation of the players involved.

More footballers should call pundits out as Richarlison did to Carragher

Top 5 successful transfers of the just concluded Premier League season

ONE crucial slip-up made by Steven Gerrard to cost Liverpool the title again

Saul Niguez arrived at Chelsea on loan from Atletico Madrid in the summer with a big reputation and the Blues thought they had a steal after beating Manchester United to his signature.

The Spanish international proved them wrong immediately with a horrific debut performance against Aston Villa which saw him substituted at halftime.

It never got better for Saul who only managed 10 Premier League appearances all season and started only five games without scoring or assisting a single goal, the only reason he is not higher up this list is that he was a loan signing.

It is almost certain that the option to buy included in his loan deal will remain untriggered by Chelsea and Saul will return to Atletico Madrid with his tails firmly tucked between his legs.

Emiliano Buendia has had a quiet season, which is not alarming until the realisation hits that Aston Villa paid €38.4 million for his services last summer.

The Argentine attacking midfielder has only managed four goals and six assists in 35 Premier League games since joining from Norwich.

The 25-year old was brought in as a replacement for the departed Jack Grealish but Aston Villa have had to sign a replacement for the replacement with the January loan addition of Phillippe Coutinho who returned five goals and four assists in 16 fewer games than Buendia.

Any football fan could have probably guessed the top three, all that remains is to fit them in the right order which is why Jadon Sancho comes in third.

Although he was just as disappointing as the other two you’re thinking of, he is third because he cost less. Manchester United’s €80 million investment is yet to yield dividends, almost a full year after.

Sancho was expected to light up the Premier League with his electric displays at Borussia Dortmund but he didn’t do anything of the sort in his debut season.

The 22-year old only managed three league goals in 29 games and looked a shadow of his usual self for the majority of the season.

After failing to live up to his big-money transfer at Manchester United, Romelu Lukaku got a chance to redeem himself, making a triumphant return to the Premier League last summer.

The big Belgian had spent two glorious years at Inter Milan and looked set to be the main man for Chelsea, the club he played for as a teenager, it all looked destined to happen.

But his second spell at Stamford Bridge has so far gone even worse than the first as Lukaku has disappointed both on and off the pitch.

The €100 million man managed eight goals in 26 appearances and actually made his team look worse when he played.

Three goals and three assists in 26 games is a bad stat line bad for any Manchester City attacker, let alone one they paid €105 million for.

The oil-rich Cityzens paid the premium for Grealish, making him the most expensive player in Premier League history.

Jack of all trades proved to really be a master of none as it turns out you require more than just an abnormally thick calf and a few sharp turns to succeed at Manchester City.