As a supporter there is often a sense of excitement when your club announces a new signing. However, as we all know, not all of them can work out quite how we anticipate. Feel free to add further names but here are 10 Premier League flops that fooled the lot of us.

1). Fernando Torres - After two excellent seasons at Liverpool, Chelsea decided to fork out a whopping £50m on the striker, who completed his move on the final day of the 2011 January transfer window. Though I do personally feel some of the scrutiny Torres has come under has at times been underdeserved, no one can deny that for a £50m investment he has struggled massively. Has it been the sizeable transfer fee and therefore the weight to live up to expectations? Has it been the way he has been used by managers and could the man management of the players be in question? Omitted from the Spain squad once more and often warming the bench for the Blues it seems a few are getting a bit impatient with the Spaniard. A summer move could be on the cards with a return to Atletico Madrid a possible destination.

2). Andriy Shevchenko - Helped by a friendship with Roman, the Ukrainian hit-man joined Chelsea for a fee of £30.8m in 2006 and having won the Ballon D’or just two years earlier. Many predicted that ‘Sheva’ would light up the Premier League, unfortunately the striker could never find the switch and struggled to adapt to life in England. Shevchenko ended up with a rather dismal record of just nine goals in 48 league games and his difficult spell at the Bridge came to an end in 2009 where he left to rejoin former club Dynamo Kiev in his native of Ukraine.

3). Alfonso Alves - After finding the net regularly for Dutch side Heerenveen, Boro fans had every right to have high hopes for the bulky Brazilian who finalised his £13.5m move at the end of the January transfer window in 2008. The player did score twice against Manchester United but that doesn’t tell the whole story, he managed just four goals in his first full season as the Teesside club were relegated to the Championship. He then moved to Al-Sadd of the Quartarian League in 2009 before joining Al-Rayyan and most recently Al Ghafara, both respective teams are also based in Qatar.

4). Juan Sebastian Veron - In July 2001, playmaker Veron finalised his move to Manchester United for a fee of £28.1m from Italian side Lazio. The Argentine did provide the odd flash of brilliance that suggested why United were tempted to pay such a large fee, that being the occasional killer pass and sublime free-kick an effort against Bolton in particular was a moment to ‘Seba’. However, the Argentine flattered to deceive and left to join Premier League rivals Chelsea for £15m in July 2003.

5). Andy Carroll - The £35m Liverpool paid for the Geordie striker raised many an eyebrow with some thinking it was a huge gamble on a promising but inexperienced striker. Carroll netted just four times in 35 Premier League games last season but many believed Liverpool was never a suitable club for Carroll because of the insufficient service from wide areas. An impressive cameo in the FA Cup final loss to Chelsea proved in vain as the newly appointed Brendan Rodgers failed to see the striker fitting in to his short-game approach. This prompted Carroll to go out on loan to West Ham where he has impressed despite injury making it a slightly inconsistent spell. It will be interesting to see whether Carroll can resurrect his Liverpool career but it seems a move elsewhere is the likely alternative.

6). Xisco - Spanish striker Xisco joined the Magpies from Deportivo La Coruna for £5.7m on a wage of £50k a week. He came in at a difficult time where there was a lot of hatred directed at owner Mike Ashley. Xisco himself wasn’t universally welcomed by the Newcastle faithful as reports suggested it was director Dennis Wise who signed the forward and not Kevin Keegan who was manager of the club at the time. Xisco struggled to make an impact and after a couple of loan moves back to Spain, finally exited having netted just once in 11 Premier League appearances.

7). Mauro Boselli - Argentine Boselli agreed to join the Wigan from Estudiantes for a club record fee of £6.5m in June 2010. Overseas imports such as Maynor Figueroa and Antonio Valencia have both flourished in the Premier League, and despite Boselli being described as a “clever player and a natural finisher” by Roberto Martinez the striker failed to find the next in his first two seasons in the top flight. He has subsequently found himself on loan at the likes of Genoa, a well as former side Estudiantes before most recently joining Palermo who he joined on loan until the end of the season, with a view to a permanent deal in the summer. It seems Wigan have lost patience with the striker, well at least that’s the position I’ve been told he plays.

8). Wilson Palacios - Midfielder Palacios was seen as somewhat of a coup for Stoke after sealing his £8m move from Tottenham in the final hour of the August 2011 transfer window. The combative Columbian has been plagued by injury during his spell at the Britannia and hasn’t really made a positive impact on the team when he has been fit. He has subsequently found himself on the bench with manager Tony Pulis preferring the likes of Glenn Whelan, Dean Whitehead and most recently Steven N’Zonzi to the player whilst Charlie Adam also seems ahead in the pecking order.

9). Esteban Granero - The Spaniard may be fairly new to the Premier League having joined QPR from Spanish giants Real Madrid for £8m in August. However with his wages thought to be around £80k a week Granero has made very little if any impact and is part of the reason QPR find themselves where they are with too many big money signings not living up to expectations. He has been frozen out recently by Harry Redknapp and if QPR go down it is very unlikely Granero will remain with the Hoops.

10). Sebastien Squillaci - French defender Squillaci joined Arsenal from Spanish side Sevilla in the summer of 2010 for a fee thought to be around the £4m mark. Many were hoping that the clubs latest French acquisition following the likes of Pascal Cygan and Mikael Silvestre, would be the answer to the club's defensive woes. Squillaci has featured in just one Premier League game over the past two seasons and has very rarely found himself in the matchday squads. Arsene Wenger has already hinted that the player could be off in the summer so it would seem unlikely that the player will be at the club next season.

Hally543 added 14:28 - Apr 3 Wilson Palacios is from Honduras not Columbia
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Edmunds5 added 14:41 - Apr 3 Schoolboy error that, my mistake
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Hally543 added 14:49 - Apr 3 Other than that it was a good read :)
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Hally543 added 14:49 - Apr 3 Other than that it was a good read :)
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Hally543 added 14:49 - Apr 3 Other than that it was a good read :)
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Hally543 added 14:49 - Apr 3 Other than that it was a good read :)
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wkj added 15:17 - Apr 3 Many of these names all share a similar tie. Many if these players were in a team that were built around them or failing that their style of play. Particularly comes to mind are Caroll and Torres. Both have quality about them except the ability to become as adaptable as a big money transfer requires. To a much more humble degree lets look at Delaney and Scotland; they floundered and rarely hit too gear at ITFC and all of a sudden they are doing the business at Their new clubs- the set up there suits their style of play. However this is a data stoic article and really does add much more depth than just "so en so is just a useless overpaid and overvalued so en so"

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wkj added 15:21 - Apr 3 predictive text ruined my last comment (yet again) data storic = fantastic. an many other words are easier to decipher.
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Edmunds5 added 15:29 - Apr 3 wkj- Thanks for the comment, I completeley agree you could make a case for most of those mentioned as to why they haven't fitted in, for example Granero at R.Madrid has Ozil, Ronaldo ect in a league that focuses on technical ability where as the Premier League is more physical. Squallaci is also slow which means he was more suitable to French football which is played at a lesser tempo.

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kozmik added 18:25 - Apr 3 2 words - Adrian Paz
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MattinLondon added 19:46 - Apr 3 Kosmik Think its unfair to put Adrian Paz in the same bracket as the expensive flops as listed in the blog. I can think of quite a few players whose Town career was more disappointing than his.
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MVBlue added 01:01 - Apr 9 Karel Poborsky ManU David Bentley Spurs 15m Aquilani Livpool 20m Mutu Chelsea 15m
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Edmunds5 added 01:23 - Apr 9 Aquilani is a great one
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