5 transferred players who are likely to struggle at their new club

A new club should bring a fresh start, a chance to progress or an opportunity to seek former glories.

However, not all transfers are equal and there are plenty more cases of a move going awry than there are tales of glory. Some are destined to fall flat on their face or some have reached for the moon too soon, only to see that their talents can only go so far, at least for now.

Here’s a look at five players that will struggle in their new homes this season.

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#5 Wayne Rooney – Everton

The former England captain has had a rough time of it lately. Slowly but surely, he was whisked out of the Manchester United line-up without a trace and now his international career looks to be all but over as well.

So, surely a romantic move back to his first club will reignite the mercurial striker’s former status?

Don’t fool yourselves.

It’s painfully apparent how far Wayne Rooney has fallen in the last two years, with fitness becoming an issue and his touch slowly deserting him. With his legs fading and a crisis of passion emerging, he looked like the shell of a player that can stake claim of being the nation’s best hope over the past decade.

He’ll add his great championship pedigree to a young dressing room, which is the biggest bonus he will bring. The worry will be if his status will force others to sit on the sidelines while he struggles through games, then he becomes more of a burden than even his most ardent supporters would have imagined.

#4 Gerard Deulofeu – Barcelona

Gerard Deulofeu

Barcelona watched their former youth graduate shine all too briefly at Everton, have his moments again with AC Milan and thought that would be enough to bring Gerard Deuloufeu home.

Were they watching with their eyes closed?

The Spaniard also failed to impress in his captain's role at the Under-21 European Championships, endlessly running into blind alleys and hindering his side as they finished runners up. A number of players, including Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio, were vastly more impressive but the Catalan giants clearly wanted to do things on the cheap.

He won’t start, he could be even further down the pecking order should another transfer come in and he’s not impressed enough to be deserving of such a move. It smells of other cheap, poor moves that Barca have done in the last 18 months of them boosting their bench with average, unproven players that could hinder them again.

#3 Theo Hernandez – Real Madrid

Theo Hernandez

Theo Hernandez made the controversial switch across the Spanish capital from Atletico to Real, only to remain firmly on the bench.

The 19-year-old was superb on loan at Alavez last season, thriving in the regular game-time and was expected to push the ageing Filipe Luis for a starting place next season. Instead, he decides to sit behind Marcelo, who’s possibly coming off his most impressive campaign with Los Blancos to date.

That’s not to say Hernandez can’t be the future of Real Madrid, the Frenchman has age and ability on his side, but the move came at the wrong time. Unless he is sent on loan again, he could have his career stagnate as long as the Brazilian ahead of him can continue his current form.

We all know how hard it can be for any player to reject the Santiago Bernabeu when it starts calling but Hernandez should have resisted their calls for at least a few more years. He now needs to push Marcelo hard or risk seeing all the hard work of last season go to waste.

#2 Havard Nordtveit - Hoffenheim

Nordtveit

Can’t play for West Ham United, so he’s the ideal fit for a Champions League team. Can anyone see the logic there?

The Norwegian has played in the Bundesliga before, having had a good few years at Borussia Monchengladbach before moving to London, but the midfielder struggled for game time under Slaven Bilic. A few injuries didn’t help but on occasions, he was left out of the squad completely even as they struggled below mid-table.

Hoffenheim lost Sebastian Rudy to Bayern Munich this summer but this isn’t a like-for-like replacement. They’ve been good at rehabilitating players in recent seasons but this seems like a risk given their new-found position within the Bundesliga.

His experience may help a youthful Hoffenheim team but with him being their biggest outlay this summer, it seems strange for the club to not go for a more proven man. It was an opportunity for real growth but this all screams of a signing that pushes them back into the status quo in Germany.

#1 Joe Hart – West Ham United

Joe Hart

He is England’s current number one but the Hammers took a risk in adding Joe Hart.

The Manchester City stopper had a nightmare end to his career with them but it only got worse in Italy. Clanger after clanger with Torino convinced them not to pursue another deal for the 30-year-old and his place with the national side is seriously under threat.

West Ham already have two relatively solid goalkeepers in Adrian and Darren Randolph, with Hart a minor upgrade on either of them. A lot of their transfers this summer seem to be on name recognition and that all smells like a recipe for disaster.

After numerous hits, falling out of favour with so many others before, Hart’s career is taking that classic England trajectory. Impress for a while, make too many mistakes, get blasted for them while slowly sliding down the totem pole for another young prospect to face the firing squad.