For every great signing, there are three bad ones. But which transfer went most badly wrong in Europe this season?
As more and more money gets pumped into the European game, clubs are getting better and better at flushing their transfer budgets down the toilet in the form of ill-judged signings. The 2022-23 campaign has been a particularly poor year in a recruitment sense across the continent.
It won't surprise you to hear that Premier League clubs were the worst offenders, but sides in Italy, Germany, Spain and beyond have all proved their incompetence in the transfer market in recent times, too.
Overpaying is not the only sin that has been committed by Europe's top clubs this season, though. There have also been failures in due diligence and scouting, with several signings clogging up a space in the squad when anyone with half an idea about football might have clocked that they weren't suited to that particular club.
Below, we've taken a look at this campaign's worst transfer offenders by ranking the 21 most disappointing signings in Europe…
Getty Images21Matt Doherty (Atletico Madrid, free)
Doherty never truly settled at Tottenham and who can blame him? Back in October, when Antonio Conte was asked why he wasn't selecting the Ireland international, he replied: "I am not stupid. I don't want to lose."
In January, Spurs agreed to cancel his contract so he could join Atletico Madrid, in a move he hoped would reignite his faltering career. Fellow ex-Spurs man Kieran Trippier enjoyed success in the Spanish capital, but Doherty has not followed suit. Overall, he's tasted just 16 minutes of La Liga football. Perhaps another contract termination is needed this summer.
AdvertisementPSG20Renato Sanches (Paris Saint-Germain, £13m)
Sanches' topsy-turvy career has continued this season. After rekindling his ailing career at Lille, helping Les Dogues secure a shock Ligue 1 title in 2021, he opted to return to Europe's top table by joining Paris Saint-Germain this summer.
It has proved to be an error of judgement, with the Euro 2016 Young Player of the Tournament struggling to break into the first team in another injury-plagued campaign. He could still emerge out of the other side of this latest setback, with PSG poised for another squad reset at the end of the season, but a loan move elsewhere could also be on the cards.
Getty Images.19Calvin Bassey (Ajax, £19m)
Ajax paid the second-highest fee in Eredivisie history to tempt Bassey away from Rangers, but he has ended the season sat on the bench following a string of questionable performances. It was rumoured that an unnamed Premier League club tabled a £20 million bid for the defender ($24.8m) with a view to him moving in the summer – which the Dutch giants rejected.
Wesley Sneijder doesn't buy it, though, saying recently: "I really don't believe any of that. I think what has happened is that Ajax want to take the pressure off themselves a bit having just lost the cup final too as well as their league standing. I am afraid it can't really be true that Ajax would seriously turn down such an offer for Calvin Bassey." Scathing stuff.
Getty18Divock Origi (AC Milan, free)
Origi traded cult-hero status at Anfield for a shot at a regular football in Milan. However, he's spent the majority of the season playing second fiddle to Olivier Giroud, desperately failing to find the back of the net and struggling for fitness.
Even accounting for a few niggling injuries, a goal tally of just two is nowhere near good enough for a player on his wages. The Rossoneri will surely be looking for an alternative Giroud successor this summer.