Premier League clubs spent more money on transfers during the 2022-23 season than ever before with Chelsea leading the way in an unprecedented splurge.
Fans are filled with optimism every year when, after their club is linked a player, they pull up a highlight reel that promises a world-beater.
Sadly, signings are not that simple, and ten minute compilation videos are not that trustworthy.
The ten deals represented on this list prove that player recruitment is one of the hardest things to get right at a football club as teams up and down the league have come unstuck.
Here’s Mail Sport’s view on the top ten worst transfer deals of the 2022-23 Premier League season.
Todd Boehly spent big in his first year at Chelsea, but got little reward on the pitch
10. Anthony Gordon
Newcastle’s £45m punt on Anthony Gordon in the January transfer window showed just how different life at St James’ Park would be under their new owners.
The former Everton man garnered significant interest from big sides in the league after shining in the club’s escape from relegation last term, and eventually made the move to the Magpies after handing in a transfer request.
Newcastle didn’t get much to show for the money they spent on the 22-year-old, who scored his first goal for his new club on the final day against Chelsea. The young winger’s temperament was also called into question after he was caught in a touchline altercation with manager Eddie Howe.
Newcastle no longer have to worry about £45m mistakes, but Gordon will have to show big improvement if he is to have a future with the club.
Anthony Gordon joined Newcastle from Everton for £45m during the January transfer window
9. Gianluca Scamacca
West Ham beat PSG to the signing of Gianluca Scamacca last summer with the ex-Sassuolo striker joining for £35.5m. But he has unfortunately endured a maiden season plagued with injury and poor form.
Scamacca has managed just three goals in 16 appearances for the Hammers, who he has not featured for since January due to a knee problem.
The 24-year-old came under fire from his own teammate Michail Antonio last week, who claimed Scamacca was not enough of a fighter to succeed under David Moyes. ‘The problem is, he can’t play the way the gaffer (Moyes) plays,’ he said on the Filthy Fellas podcast.
‘If you’re up front, you’re dealing with scraps and you’ve got to be more of a fighter, and that’s not him.’
Gianluca Scamacca struggled at West Ham after previously thriving in Serie A for Sassuolo
8. Fabio Vieira
Arsenal’s £34m capture of Porto midfielder Fabio Vieira looked to be another piece of solid business last summer.
The 23-year-old registered 20 goal involvements in the Portuguese top-flight last term and was named player of the tournament at the European U21 Championships in 2021.
Unfortunately for the Gunners, despite showing some early promise Vieira has struggled to force his way into Mikel Arteta’s side. The midfielder could only manage three starts in the league, making 22 appearances overall where he bagged two assists and a solitary goal.
In fairness, it would have taken something special to dislodge the likes of Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, but Arsenal were certainly expecting a more consistent performer when they brought him to the club.
Fabio Vieira’s only Premier League goal last season came in a 3-0 away win against Brentford
7. Neal Maupay
Everton spent £15m on Brighton Neal Maupay in the hope the Frenchman would fill the void left by the departing Richarlison.
They were also looking for him to eventually partner Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who began the season on the treatment table.
As it turned out, Maupay failed both briefs. With a return of one goal from 27 Premier League games, the 26-year-old scored as many goals as defenders Michael Keane, James Tarkowski and Séamus Coleman as the Toffees narrowly avoided the drop.
Neal Maupay started just one of Everton’s last 13 games as the Toffees secured their safety
6. Kalvin Phillips
It was pretty sad to see Phillips sat on the Manchester City bench as Leeds struggled for any sort of quality in the season’s final weeks.
The 27-year-old began his City career injured after signing for around £45m last summer, missing seven games with a shoulder problem.
Despite not playing a minute of Premier League football, Gareth Southgate opted to take him along to the World Cup where he played around 40 minutes before being labelled ‘overweight’ by his own manager on his return.
Fully fit in 2023, the midfielder has managed just two starts in the league and is yet to record a goal or assist for his new club. Aside from the shedload of trophies, it has been a season to forget for the Yorkshireman.
Kalvin Phillips has managed just two starts in the Premier League this season with Man City
5. Marc Cucurella
Chelsea’s first transfer mishap of the season came in the form of their £63m purchase of Brighton full back Marc Cucurella.
The Spaniard suffered a torrid first season at Stamford Bridge where he turned out 24 times in the Blues’ humiliating campaign.
As we would later see, Cucurella’s signing was a sign of things to come as the club spent £546m to finish in the bottom-half of the table.
Even if the 24-year-old returns to the form he showed at Brighton, it’ll be hard to justify the whopping price tag that took him to Stamford Bridge.
Marc Cucurella was the fourth most expensive Premier League defender when he joined Chelsea
4. Richarlison
Like another former Everton player on this list Richarlison has been a victim of frankly ridiculous transfer fees clubs have paid to secure his services.
Last summer the Brazilian joined Spurs in what many commentators believed to be a hugely successful window overseen by then-manager Antonio Conte.
But Tottenham’s decision to fork out £60m last summer looked worse with every passing week of the Premier League. The 26-year-old has suffered the ignominy of passionately celebrating several ‘maiden’ Spurs goals, only for them to be chalked off for one reason or another.
When he did finally get off the mark for the club, in what looked to complete a massive comeback in the final minutes of a thrilling match against Liverpool in April, his team transpired to concede just a minute later.
Richarlison netted four times at the World Cup but just three times in all competitions for Spurs
3. Jesse Lingard
Newly-promoted Nottingham Forest thought they’d completed a transfer coup when they snapped up the ex-Manchester United man on a free transfer last summer.
Lingard had admittedly not torn up any trees during his 2021-22 season, but in the year prior he had reignited his career with an outstanding six-month cameo while on loan at West Ham.
Lingard signed a lucrative 12-month deal with Forest but struggled to reproduce anything close to what he had done at the London stadium. The 30-year-old started the first four games with his new club but saw his game time plummet after poor performances.
The forward ended up failing to score or assist in 17 Premier League appearances for Forest and only featured three times off the bench in 2023. He has since been released by the club.
Nottingham Forest confirmed that Jesse Lingard was among six players released by the club
2. Georginio Rutter
Leeds broke their transfer record in the January transfer window and got a much-needed reinforcement up front in the shape of Georginio Rutter.
The young Frenchman signed for £35.5m from Bundesliga side Hoffenheim with Leeds fans expectant after he showed signs of promise during his time in Germany.
However, 2022-23 turned into a bit of a nightmare for the forward, who could only score three goals from 33 appearances.
Worse still for Leeds, whose fans saw a grand total of zero while at Elland Road. Rutter was an unused substitute in six of Leeds’ final seven league games as they were relegated from the Premier League.
Leeds broke their transfer record to sign Georginio Rutter to a five-and-half year deal
1. Mykhailo Mudryk
When Chelsea signed a 22-year-old winger who had only played 44 times for Shakhtar Donetsk for a deal worth £88m, it was clear the club was lost for ideas.
Mudryk had started the 2022-23 campaign in blistering form, starring in the Champions League group stage and recording 13 goal contributions in 12 games in the Ukrainian top-flight.
However, upon moving to Stamford Bridge, goals have been very hard to come by as the youngster has cut a lonely figure. He is not alone in that at Chelsea, but with the club shelling out so much money to pip Arsenal to his signature, his switch warrants the top spot for worst transfers this season.
Mykhailo Mudryk has won only three Premier League games at Chelsea since joining for £88m
