#4 Andy Carroll (£35 million)
On the same day as Liverpool lost their own talismanic striker in Torres, they decided to splash the cash to sign the then 22-year-old Andy Carroll from Newcastle United. Carroll was actually having a very good season with the Magpies, having scored 11 league goals in 19 outings. He even earned his maiden England call-up in a couple of months prior to joining Liverpool.
Carroll was handed the number 9 at Anfield but he never quite lived up to his billing at the club. He simply did not suit the style of Liverpool and it is perhaps fair to say that he was a disastrous signing for the Reds. Carroll's perhaps only memorable moment from his short Liverpool career includes a late winning goal against Liverpool's fiercest rivals, Everton in an FA Cup Semi-final tie in 2012.
Carroll was allowed to join West Ham United on loan the following season and then permanently in 2013 for a fee of £15 million.