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The English Premier League has continuously emerged as the biggest collective spender in Europe for the last decade in almost every transfer window. There's rigorous business from start to deadline during the window and some lucrative deals are always just around the corner.
Although each club wishes for a great return on their investment, the Premier League has seen enough flops and lots of cash go down the drain. But the English top flight remains as competitive as ever and upgrading the squad at frequent intervals is the only way to thrive.
Anyone who follows the league is familiar with the fact that no deal is too far from reality. The market is mostly an apt reflection of what goes on in the field.
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Any player who stands out on the pitch usually has a price tag that stands out in the market as well. Every club wants a player at the most affordable price but that seldom happens.
Premier League clubs have to pay over the market value to acquire English players
Usually, (and it's often observed with clubs from the Premier League), clubs end up spending a fortune to land a player. This said 'fortune' is often above the market value of the player. Sometimes, the players end up justifying those hefty numbers attached to them and sometimes they fail to live up to the hype.
The English top flight has been home to many such overpriced players and often when homegrown players switch clubs internally, their asking prices are relatively higher. It is basically seen as a move to strengthen your own club and at the same time weaken your competitors. Hence, the extra amount is only fair as compensation.
On that note, here are the five most overpriced players in the Premier League.
#5 Danny Drinkwater - £26.01 million diff
How does a £34.11 million man stay on a club's books and make only 23 appearances in four-and-a-half years is beyond comprehension. Until you realize the club is Chelsea and they are not shy of spending big. But they got it very wrong with Danny Drinkwater in 2017.
His highest valuation ever was the £8.10 million in 2017 when he was a Leicester City player. In came Chelsea and paid £34.11 million for the midfielder. Sure, he won the Premier League title in 2016 with the Foxes but nothing he did on the pitch warranted the ridiculous amount Chelsea spent.
His last appearance for the Blues was back in 2018 and has since gone on loan to Aston Villa and Burnley and is currently at Reading in the Championship. At Leicester City, he was a solid and combative presence in midfield and was perfect for the Foxes.
But the ambition was greater and Drinkwater never truly self-evaluated himself before the move. The Englishman always seemed like a misfit in the Chelsea team, lacking the quality to be a regular player and became the forgotten man of the Premier League.
#4 Benjamin White - £27.45 million difference
Arsenal's summer transfer window of 2021 was aimed at bringing young players with high potential to the club. Their defense has been criticized regularly in recent years and Mikel Arteta wanted a long-term cure for the same. That led to the signing of Brighton defender Benjamin White for £52.65m.
This is the maximum amount the Gunners have ever paid for a defender in their history. His market value at the time of his signing was a generous £25.20 million. But White was no ordinary defender. He can offer Arsenal the best years of his career and at Brighton he has established himself as a very reliable center-back.
More importantly, this was a player capable of playing in multiple roles without looking like he's being played out of position. So when Arsenal coughed up an extra £27.45 million, they must have hoped it would give them an edge in the Premier League.
With over half the season played, it has started to look like a very smart move. White has been an ever-present figure in the Gunners backline in the Premier League. He has built a very strong partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes.
The former Brighton man is very comfortable with the ball at his feet and loves to carry it forward. He has some very accurate long balls up his sleeve and is often giving their attack a push from the deep. Despite being overpriced, this could still prove to be a steal in the long-term.
#3 Harry Maguire - £33.30 million difference
Manchester United have surely been the biggest Premier League club from a global scale point of view. They have a huge fan following and have been generating great revenue figures as well. Since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure, the Red Devils have not won a Premier League title.
In their attempts to close the gap on the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool, Man United have splashed a great load of cash to bring in players. But it was really brave of them to make Harry Maguire the costliest defender in football for £78.30 million.
His performances have consistently divided opinion among fans and pundits and when you overpay for a player by £33.30 million you do not want that to be the case. Maguire hasn't been that bad either, but he has had the tendency to commit the odd mistake which often sees Premier League fans and England supporters turn against him.
This is another example of how good Leicester City are at negotiating in the market and making a profit. The England international was only worth £45 million in the market when he was being sold. He has lacked pace at times and has easily been outrun in one vs one situations.
It's not been the easiest of rides for Maguire at Old Trafford, but he has tried his best to be the leader United want him to be. At the back, aerially he has been quite commanding and offers to keep the backline in sync. It is just one of those cases where the price tag is too heavy to carry.
#2 Andy Carroll - £34.65 million difference
Liverpool were desperate for a striker and they made a mistake. Meet that mistake, Andy Carroll. This Liverpool blunder will definitely go down in Premier League history as one of the worst signings. He was signed on the back of the 2010/11 season in the English top flight, where Carroll managed 11 goals and 10 assists in just 19 appearances for Newcastle United.
Liverpool broke the British record fee and agreed to a £36.90 million transfer for a player valued just over £2 million. Let that sink in. He never really took off at Anfield in the Premier League. The striker felt the odd one out quality-wise for the Reds and the injuries only worsened this transfer tragedy.
In 58 appearances he only managed to score 11 times and after a loan spell with West Ham was permanently sold to them for less than half the transfer fee. The only saving grace for Liverpool in that January transfer window was the signing of Luis Suarez, who arrived at a much lower fee.
As far as Carroll is concerned, the less said, the better.
#1 Jack Grealish - £47.25 million difference
No surprises here, just Manchester City doing what Manchester City do, splashing loads of cash to sign the man of the moment. Jack Grealish is undoubtedly one of the most talented English footballers playing in the Premier League. However, Pep Guardiola would desperately hope that signing him for triple figures (£100m) does not turn out to be a waste.
In previous seasons, the former Aston Villa player was the best in his team. He single-handedly drove attacks, attracted fouls, scored goals, assisted teammates and you wouldn't dare take your eyes off him. But things are just so much different at the Etihad.
Every other player is top quality and most of them have proven themselves time and again. So a verdict on Grealish's Man City days is too early to pronounce right now. But, we can't forget how good he was at Aston Villa and the fact that City paid £100m for a player worth £58.50 million.
In 23 appearances in all competitions, the winger has only managed three goals and three assists, two each in the Premier League and one each in the Champions League. Pep Guardiola has not experimented with Grealish and has played him on his preferred left side.
If the player fails to up the ante for the remainder of the season, he might start being judged harshly by fans and media.
