5 big money January transfers that failed to impress

The January transfer window has its critics with some experts arguing whether teams should only be allowed to buy/sell players in the off season and utilize the same squad for the entirety of the campaign.On the other hand, there are those who see merit in the January window as it allows managers to account for injuries in their squads that they have no control over.But like it or not, the first month of the year does give fans something apart from just games to follow and look forward to. While, the total transfer activity and outlay is considerably less than the July-August window, January has thrown up its fair share of blockbuster moves over the years.Here we discuss 5 of these moves that didn’t work out as expected for player and club:

#1 Fernando Torres

Fernando Torres was lethal during his time at Liverpool and was rightly recognised as one of the world’s best strikers during his four and a half year spell on Merseyside. That same killer instinct in front of goal prompted Chelsea to sign the Spaniard for a British record £50 million on 31st January 2011, a move the Londoners would come to regret soon after.

What followed was three years of misery for Torres who scored just 20 goals in 110 appearances for Chelsea compared to 65 that he had netted for Liverpool in just over a century of games.

With El Nino failing to find his lost form at Stamford Bridge, he became the gold standard for failed transfers and teams started exercising extra caution before splurging big money on established stars in January.

The Blues finally offloaded Torres to AC Milan on a two-year loan deal in the summer of 2014 after signing Diego Costa. But life in Italy hasn’t been any kinder to the Spanish World Cup winner so far.

#2 Andy Carroll

Interestingly, the two worst deals in the history of the January window so far were completed just a few hours apart from each other on the last day of the 2011 window. After Liverpool learned that Torres was leaving for Chelsea, they wanted to bring in replacements with not long left before the window shut. The Reds brought in Andy Carroll from Newcastle for £35 million, shattering the previous record transfer fees for an English player.

Carroll turned out to be a failure of epic proportions at Anfield. He managed just half a dozen goals in his 18 month spell at Liverpool before Brendan Rodgers deemed him surplus to requirements and loaned him to West Ham. The Englishman made his loan deal permanent in the summer of 2013 with Liverpool recouping less than half of what they had invested in him.

On the day that Carroll signed for Liverpool, the Reds had already completed the deal to bring in Luis Suarez from Ajax (for a paltry sum of £22.8 million) a few hours earlier. How they wish they had called it a day after signing the Uruguayan striker!

#3 Scott Parker

Scott Parker was one of the countless casualties of the first few years of the Roman Abramovich era at Stamford Bridge. The midfielder was brought in from Charlton for £10 million in January 2004 but hardly got a game in a Chelsea side over flowing with expensive talent in the middle of the park.

With Claude Makelele and Frank Lampard the chosen midfield pairing for Mourinho, Parker made just 15 appearances for Chelsea and most of them came in domestic cup competitions.

The former PFA Young player of the year left Chelsea for Newcastle in search of regular playing time in July 2005 and became an integral part of the Magpies before moving back to London with West Ham 2 years later. He also had a spell at Tottenham before transferring to his current club Fulham (which is also the 5th London club he has represented).

#4 Fernando Morientes

In January 2005, Rafa Benitez signed legendary Spanish striker Fernando Morientes from Real Madrid for £6 million to add to the sizeable Spanish Contingent already at Anfield. Liverpool fans hadn’t been this excited about a new striker coming into the club since Stan Collymore was signed by Roy Evans a decade earlier!

Morientes made his debut as a lone striker in a loss against Manchester United and it did not get any better for him, scoring just 3 goals in the second half of the 2004-05 season. The Spaniard couldn’t even play a role in Liverpool’s astonishing Champions League triumph in 2005 as he had already featured in the same competition for Real Madrid that season and was cup tied.

The following season, Morientes never got going and Liverpool fans never witnessed the ability that made him one of the most feared strikers in Europe at Real Madrid. In the summer of 2006, Liverpool cut their losses and allowed Morientes to return to the more familiar Spanish League with Valencia.

#5 Wilson Palacios

Wilson Palacios rose to prominence after a number of battling performances for Wigan Athletic in 2008. The Honduran caught the eye of Tottenham who were in the market for a midfield enforcer and Spurs reportedly fended off interest from clubs like Manchester United and Real Madrid to secure his services in January 2009 for £14 million.

Palacios put in a few decent performances immediately after signing for Harry Redkanpp’s Tottenham side but never really showed the form that had him compared to Paul Ince by former manager Steve Bruce.

After finishing two full seasons in North London and failing to establish himself in the starting eleven, Palacios moved on to Stoke City in a £6 million deal in August 2011