Inter Milan announced that they had re-signed striker Romelu Lukaku on a season-long loan this week, approximately a year after selling him to Chelsea for £97.5million.
Expectations were high for the Belgian when he arrived, and many saw the former Manchester United forward as the final piece of the puzzle for Thomas Tuchel – whose team had all of the creative threats but no out and out no.9 to convert opportunities. But Lukaku struggled too.
Given his price tag, reputation and overall disappointment of last season, many consider Lukaku one of the worst signings in Premier League history. But where does he sit in Mirror Football's top ten…?
10. Paul Pogba (2016, Manchester United)
French midfielder Paul Pogba returned to Manchester United in 2016 as one of the most exciting young talents in world football and looked like he would become a hero at Old Trafford. Yet this summer he left as a player that disappointed in every other performance and became incredibly frustrating to watch.
Pogba showed glimmers of a world-class talent, and on the international stage that was the version of the midfielder that you would see consistently. But the £89m arrival struggled consistently at Old Trafford and he has to be considered one of the worst for that very reason.
9. Fernando Torres (2011, Chelsea)
At the time of purchase, Fernando Torres was one of the best strikers in world football at Liverpool – completely justifying his £50m price tag. But the Spaniard lost his cutting edge from the moment he stepped foot in Stamford Bridge.
The striker never scored more than eight goals in a Premier League campaign in his four years with the Blues – and his goal in the 2012 Champions League semi-final somewhat masks how underwhelming he was. It is certainly a deal that all parties, including Liverpool, will regret.
8. Andriy Shevchenko (2006, Chelsea)
Another striker that was signed by Chelsea as a world-class talent and left a flop. For £30m, Shevchenko’s arrival from AC Milan looked quite the coup and was a huge sign of intent from owner Roman Abramovich.
The Ukrainian legend never hits the heights that he was expected to with the Blues, scoring nine league goals in 48 appearances. He struggled with injuries and the tempo of the Premier League during this time and soon returned to Milan.
7. Danny Drinkwater (2017, Chelsea)
It’s an unfavourable hat-trick for the Blues but seventh on the list is Danny Drinkwater, who joined the club from Leicester City in 2017 for approximately £35m. The midfielder only made 12 league appearances for Chelsea and left the club as a free agent this summer – a significant amount of cash somewhat burnt by Abramovich.
6. Tiemoue Bakayako (2017, Chelsea)
Drinkwater wasn’t the only midfielder to arrive at Chelsea in 2017, the club forked out £40m to purchase highly sought-after star Tiemoue Bakayako from AS Monaco. He spent his debut season at the club and has been out on loan ever since – with Chelsea extending his contract until 2024 last summer to essentially buy themselves some more time to cut their losses on the Frenchman.
5. Andy Carroll (2011, Liverpool)
After Liverpool sold Torres to Chelsea, they were keen to splash the cash on replacements – with Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez signing for the club. And the phrase 'chalk and cheese' doesn’t do justice to the contrasting careers the two players had at Anfield.
Carroll scored six goals in 44 league appearances for Liverpool, a strike rate that would be disappointing for a free transfer – which makes matters worse for the Reds given they forked out £35m for him. Injuries have always hampered the target man’s career, but even when fit he never met the standard of a Liverpool player.
4. Nicolas Pepe (2019, Arsenal)
One of the more recent signings on the list, and perhaps one of the most forgettable, but Arsenal forked out a club-record fee of £72m for Nicolas Pepe of Lille. And his time at the Emirates Stadium has been so underwhelming that it is tough to even remember he still warms their bench every week.
Pepe has scored 16 goals in 80 Premier League appearances and although looking a talented dribbler that can beat a player, he never truly slotted into any of Arsenal’s systems. It is likely that the Ivorian will depart the Emirates Stadium this summer and a move abroad should allow him to get his career back on track.
3. Alexis Sanchez (2018, Manchester United)
Alexis Sanchez was an unstoppable force at Arsenal and unremarkable at Manchester United. Even though he didn't come with a transfer fee – as Henrikh Mkhitaryan went in the opposite direction - he has to be regarded as a terrible signing due to his reported £500,000 per-week salary.
Sanchez was given the iconic no.7 shirt at Old Trafford but made just 32 appearances for the club over the course of two seasons – scoring a mere three. It didn’t take long for United to decide that enough was enough, sending him out on loan to Inter Milan – who signed him permanently in 2020.
2. Angel Di Maria (2014, Manchester United)
The Red Devils broke the English transfer record in order to secure the signature of Angel Di Maria, spending £60m on the versatile playmaker. It quickly became clear that the Argentina international was struggling to find his feet with United and he was sold to Paris Saint-Germain after just a year – and to add insult to injury, he was unstoppable in the Ligue 1 from that point onwards. Di Maria found the back of the net three times in his first two months at United, then never again in the Premier League.
1. Romelu Lukaku (2021, Chelsea)
Harsh? Maybe. But if Lukaku doesn’t return to Chelsea in a year's time and find some sort of form then he has to be regarded as the worst Premier League transfer of all time. Of course, Harry Maguire, Jack Grealish and Jadon Sancho will all be mentioned at this moment in time – but that trio are all remaining at their current clubs and have time to turn things around.
The fact that the Blues have already lost faith in Lukaku after a year and believe he needs time back in Italy to return to form is incredibly worrying, especially as it means Thomas Tuchel has more faith in makeshift forward Kai Havertz than him. Lukaku may return to the Premier League and hit the ground running and thus allow the previous season to become a distant memory, but until then he tops the list.
