The January transfer window brings the opportunity for teams to push on with title races, the battle for European spots and to stay in the league, but transfers in the first month of the year haven't always gone well in the Premier League.
Whilst Bruno Fernandes, voted the best January signing ever, and Virgil van Dijk are particularly good examples of what can be done in January, managers are often explaining how difficult transfer business is at this time of year.
Advert
Unless an absolute bargain presents itself, or your team are really desperate for a player, it's often best off waiting until the summer.
With a clearer head outside of the drama of an ongoing campaign, and longer to decide who to sign, perhaps some managers would have avoided some of these mistakes.
Since the January transfer window was introduced in 2003 there's been some real stinkers and we've compiled a list of the worst of the lot.
17). Joey Barton - It might seem somewhat harsh to include a free transfer on the list, but Barton's move on a free to Burnley, his second spell at the club, lasted just 14 league appearances and three months, before he was banned from football for 10 months.
Advert
16). Kim Kallstrom - For a generation of fans, Kallstrom was best known as a bargain signing on Championship Manager. He arrived at Arsenal win an injured back and played just four games in all competitions, though he did score a penalty in the FA Cup semi-final shootout.
15). Steven Caulker - Caulker started the season at Southampton on loan, lost 6-1 to Liverpool and the Reds thought they'd take him off the Saints' hands. He played three league games all as late substitute and played up front in them all!
14). Ben Davies - Another defender who joined Liverpool in the winter window. Davies was back up for the Reds injury crisis but hasn't played a single minute for Jurgen Klopp's team, he's now on loan at Sheffield United.
Advert
13). Oumar Niasse - After a £13.5 million move Niasse didn't score a single league goal in his first few months at Goodison Park. A new season brought a new manager for Everton and Ronald Koeman didn't play him all season.
12). Marvin Sordell - Bolton signed Sordell when they were in the midst of a relegation battle, the striker only played three times, didn't score, and the club went down. The following season he still only scored four times in the Championship.
11). Denis Suarez - Another Arsenal loanee, Suarez only played six times in all competitions for the Gunners and was paid £55,000-a-week during his spell there. He's since revealed he was injured for most of his time at the Emirates.
10). Jean Alain Boumsong - Boumsong moved from Monaco to Rangers on a free transfer in August 2004. He impressed so much that Newcastle paid £8 million for him five months later. On the contrary he did not impress at St James' Park and the Stevens inquiry into corruption in football even looked into the move, though it was cleared of wrongdoing.
9). Guido Carrillo - The striker had played under Manuel Pellegrino at Estudiantes so the Southampton manager paid £19 million for him. Two months later the manager was sacked and Carrillo didn't score a single goal in his spell at the club.
Advert
8). Wilfried Bony - After spending £25 million on the Swansea striker, Manchester City would have hoped Bony would help them win the league. Instead the title went to Leicester, Bony only scored twice for City, and four times the following season.
7). Savio Nsereko - You might be asking 'who?' which is why Nsereko is on this list. West Ham paid around £9 million for the forward, he played 10 games without scoring. Fiorentina paid €2.7 million for him six months later and sent Manuel da Costa to London too. Da Costa didn't fare any better as a Hammer and it was one big terrible mess.
6). Kostas Mitroglou - Fulham were attempting to stay in the Premier League so spent a record £12 million for him. He took until the end of February to make his debut due to injuries and fitness levels, played three times without scoring and they went down.
5). Juan Cuadrado - The Colombian arrived at Chelsea around £24 million but never impressed in 14 appearances, before moving to Juventus six months later. Part of his move to the Blues saw Mohamed Salah go on loan to Fiorentina. The Egyptian impressed enough to earn his move to Roma. Jose Mourinho might have been better off just playing Salah!
4). Fernando Torres - For £50 million Chelsea would have expected much more than 20 Premier League goals in 110 appearances. It never worked out for the striker at Stamford Bridge, but his Champions League semi-final winner means he's not higher up our list.
Advert
3). Andy Carroll - Liverpool needed to replace Torres so they splashed out £35 million on a striker with six months in England's top tier. Carroll, completely opposite to Luis Suarez who joined a day before, was a disaster at Anfield, scoring just six goals in a season and a half.
2). Philippe Coutinho - Okay this one is a bit of a cheat considering the transfer was out of the Premier League but considering he cost Barcelona £140 million and his best achievement whilst at the club was helping knock them out of the Champions League whilst on loan at Bayern Munich he needed to be included. Great business for Liverpool mind.
1). Alexis Sanchez/Henrikh Mkhitaryan - One of the worst pieces of transfer business in the Premier League era. Sanchez did nothing for Manchester United, after they beat rivals City to his signing, just months before he was available for nothing.
The club gave him huge wages and he didn't live up to them or his reputation, scoring three league goals in 32 games before leaving for Inter Milan. Mkhitaryan went to Arsenal in the deal and the Armenian didn't fare too much better, though he did score more goals, before his move to Roma. All round the transfer didn't work out for anyone!
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Transfers, Premier League, Philippe Coutinho, Alexis Sanchez