As always, there have been plenty of transfers across the continent that just haven't worked out – but which were the biggest flops?
Statistically, the chances of any given transfer proving to be a success are slim at best – but in the modern era that doesn't stop Europe's big hitters splashing out when the opportunity arises, and the 2024-25 season was, of course, no different. An eye-watering £6.6 billion ($8.8bn) was shelled out by teams from the continent's top-flight leagues and the English Championship across the summer and January windows, with predictably mixed results.
Now the campaign has drawn to a close for (almost) everyone, the time has come to reflect on and dissect some of those costly decisions – both financially and in football terms – in the transfer market. The debate surrounding the biggest flops is always a fierce one, but who have been the very worst in the European arena?
Sifting through the transfer grubbiness so you don't have to, GOAL ranks the 20 most disappointing new signings across Europe in 2024-25…
Getty Images20Matthijs de Ligt (Manchester United) – £43m
Lauded as a marquee defensive signing, Matthijs de Ligt was supposed to sort out Manchester United's backline; instead, he ended up being part of one of the worst Red Devils sides of all time, let alone the Premier League era. That said, you would be hard pressed to claim he necessarily did anything wrong individually – the Dutchman didn't make a single error leading to a goal and largely demonstrated his acumen at centre-back.
However, when you sign a defender with De Ligt's reputation for a fee north of £40m ($53m), you expect a broader return on your investment in terms of an overall improvement. United finished the season with the joint-ninth-worst defensive record in the Premier League having conceded 54 times, and they were run ragged at the back far too often given the quality they have at their disposal. De Ligt will need to call on his vast experience to step up next season.
AdvertisementGetty19Jadon Sancho (Chelsea) – loan
Jadon Sancho's eye-catching spell with his former club Borussia Dortmund – in exile from Manchester United – in the second half of last season convinced pretty much everyone that he was officially back, as he played a key role in an unlikely run to the Champions League final. Consequently, it was viewed as shrewd piece of business when Chelsea took the winger on a shock loan late in the summer, with a £25 million ($33m) obligation to buy worked into the deal.
There were early signs of promise as Sancho laid on four goals in three games to begin the 2024-25 campaign, but his form tailed off and it became increasingly clear why United had been willing to let him go in the first place as he reverted to type. It has even been rumoured that the Blues are even weighing up paying a £5m get-out clause to send him back to Old Trafford. He had his moments, but it would be little surprise to see the 25-year-old's time in west London cut short.
Getty Images18Emile Smith Rowe (Fulham) – £34m
It initially seemed as though Emile Smith Rowe would thrive away from Arsenal, making the Gunners regret their decision to let him go, but his fast start at Craven Cottage proved to be somewhat misleading. Fulham's record signing found it difficult to make a consistent impact in the weeks and months following his early-season flourishes, and he lost his starting place as a result. His manager Marco Silva suggested he was once again struggling with the physical issues he had during his time in north London.
"He had a very good impact in the first few months, but after the second international break he was down – December was a difficult month for him," Silva said in March. "He needs to find the right consistency in his game to perform at a very good level and this is the main thing for us. I don't doubt his talent and quality, but the Premier League demands so many things from you and you always have to be in very good shape and top level physically. This is something we have been working on with Emile."
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Getty Images Sport17Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (Chelsea) – £30m
Poor old Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Chelsea plucked the midfielder from newly-promoted Leicester City for a cool £30m ($40m) shortly after nabbing the Foxes' Championship-winning head coach Enzo Maresca. There was the expectation that Dewsbury-Hall would play a significant role in the Italian's tactical system as a shuttling No.8 but, perhaps predictably, that was not what transpired, and he is widely expected to be on the move again in the summer.
The 26-year-old barely had a look in at Stamford Bridge as he battled key players Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez for a starting place, and there is clearly some element of Maresca not fully trusting a player he leaned on so heavily at the King Power Stadium last season. The step up to the upper-echelons of the Premier League was always going to be a big one, and Dewsbury-Hall hasn't made the grade – though that's through no fault of his own.