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There is a high level of excitement and anticipation when a footballer makes a big move to a new club. While fans expect the player to instantly have an impact, that is always not the case as some of these players end up having a disappointing debut season.
A lot of factors, such as the pressure on the players, the playing style of the club, and the inability to adapt to the style of play in the new league, are all reasons why even some of the highly talented players, surprisingly have a disappointing debut season when they switch teams.
Without much ado, let’s take a look at five footballers who had a disappointing debut season after a major transfer:
5. Timo Werner To Chelsea
Clubs in need of a reliable striker turned their attention to Timo Werner because of his impressive stats with RB Leipzig. In the 2019-2020 season, he scored 34 goals in 45 appearances for the German club, making him one of the deadliest strikers at that time.
With an impressive profile such as his, he began attracting interest and in the end, Chelsea decided to strengthen their attacking options and in the summer of 2020, they got their man for a fee of £47 million.
Werner had a disappointing debut season with Chelsea. As a striker with his quality, many didn’t expect him to flop the way he did. He struggled to adapt to the Premier League and when you expected him to score, he missed several clear-cut chances that would have increased his goal tally.
As a striker, you should be able to convert almost all of your chances, or you could end up costing your team valuable points. With no significant improvement, Werner lost confidence and ultimately, his place in the starting lineup.
4. Nicolas Pepe To Arsenal
Before agreeing to join Arsenal, Nicolas Pepe was impressing the footballing community with these skills and talent, which he displayed for all to see while playing for Lille.
In his last season at the French club, Pepe scored 22 goals and provided 11 assists in Ligue 1. His performance caught the attention of several big clubs across Europe.
In the end, it was Arsenal who beat other clubs to his signature and a club-record fee of £72 million was paid to secure his services.
The expectations were quite high and even though he had never played in the Premier League, he looked like a player who would easily adapt and immediately have an impact due to his impressive goal scoring form he showed the previous season.
Having invested heavily in him, Arsenal fans finally believed that they were now ready to challenge for major trophies, hence, were eager to see Pepe make his debut for the club.
However, his debut season for the club turned out to be unconvincing. He couldn’t find his rhythm and even though he showed glimpses of his talent, he was inconsistent throughout the season. With only five goals and six assists in the Premier League, Pepe struggled to make any significant impact in his debut season for Arsenal.
3. Mykhailo Mudryk To Chelsea
Mykhailo Mudryk was one of the highly rated players in Ukraine, where he played for Shakhtar Donetsk. The young player, who operated mostly from the wings, impressed fans with his speed and impressive technical abilities.
Chelsea, who were struggling and going through a rough time, weren’t the only ones interested in securing the services of the talented player. However, they were the only ones willing to pay his huge transfer fee and in January 2023, they paid £88.5 million to sign him.
Many had hoped that he would instantly have an impact in his debut season and help bring some sense of hunger and ambition to the squad, but surprisingly, that was not the case.
He had a disappointing debut for the club and in his first game against Fulham, he had to be substituted at halftime after a poor outing. He struggled to establish himself as a regular starter at the club and, ultimately, failed to adapt to the intensity of the Premier League.
Though Mudryk played a few games for the Chelsea before the end of the nightmare season, most of them were as a substitute.
2. Eden Hazard To Real Madrid
At a time when there was a void left at Real Madrid with the sudden departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, the expectations were quite high as many had hope that Eden Hazard would bring his magic to the Santiago Bernabeu and become the new star of the team.
Real Madrid broke the bank and signed Hazard from Chelsea in the summer of 2019, in a deal worth a club-record transfer fee of £103.5 million. However, his debut season at the club turned out to be a disappointing one as he wasn’t able to live up to the expectations.
During his time in the Premier League, where he played for Chelsea, he was considered as one of the best players in the world and was even compared to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The feeling was also the same among fans of Chelsea, who consider him as one of their key players.
Known for his incredible dribbling ability and creativity, he played a key role in helping Chelsea win multiple domestic and international titles. Based on his profile, everything suggested that he would fit perfectly at Real Madrid, that was however, not the case.
Hazard had a disappointing debut season and his transfer to Real Madrid can be considered a failure. He couldn’t stay fit, his playing time was limited because of the recurring injuries he suffered throughout his debut season.
Hazard, who was considered as the next Ronaldo of Madrid, was unable to adapt to the intensity of the Spanish league. Even when he was fit and ready to go, the surprising thing is that fans hardly saw him play.
1. Romelu Lukaku To Chelsea
The transfer of Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan to Chelsea in a deal worth around £97.5 million was the talk of the footballing world among fans who described it as the biggest deal of the 2021 summer transfer window.
After just a season into his return at the London club, Lukaku was so poor that he was loaned back to Inter in the summer of 2022 for one season.
On his return to the Serie A giants, Lukaku scored 10 goals in 25 appearances as they reached the Champions League final in the 2022-23 season, where they lost out to Manchester City.
