5 hours Ago By Callum Bishop
The 10 worst signings of the 2024/25 Premier League season have been named. Manchester United stars Matthijs de Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee have failed to impress. Chelsea duo Joao Felix and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall have yet to be handed regular game time.
New signings are meant to become the beacon of hope at any football club. The optimism that a player will come in and have the same impact as Eric Cantona at Manchester United , or Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool . Unfortunately, that only happens to very few special names who have the ability to flip a club's fortunes at the flick of a switch.
For the majority, they either do their job reasonably well or, worse, fail to live up to expectations at all. The Premier League was unsurprisingly busy with transfer activity over the summer, but not every player has settled in well. With that in mind, these 10 stars are the ones who will have to do the most looking in the mirror as they sit as the worst signings of the season so far.
Price tag Performances in key statistics Impact at new club Pre-arrival expectations 10 Worst Premier League Signings 24/25 Player Rank Club 1. Joao Felix Chelsea 2. Joshua Zirkzee Manchester United 3.
Eddie Nketiah Crystal Palace 4. Kalvin Phillips Ipswich Town 5. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall Chelsea 6.
Raheem Sterling Arsenal 7. Matthijs de Ligt Manchester United 8. Ilkay Gundogan Manchester City 9.
Niclas Fullkrug West Ham United 10. Ben Brereton Diaz Southampton 10 Ben Brereton Diaz Ben Brereton Diaz is an interesting character, as a lot was made of him adding Diaz to his last name when he received a shock call-up to the Chilean national team. He has, however, proven he can have an impact in the top flight, as he previously scored six Premier League goals in 14 games as part of a woeful Sheffield United team.
To have found the net that many times is truly impressive. He has failed to meet those standards at Southampton though. After 16 games, he has more yellow cards than goals and his biggest achievement to date is goading Fabian Schar into getting sent off on his debut.
He's still yet to find the back of the net in a Saints shirt as we rapidly approach the turn of the year. 9 Niclas Fullkrug Achilles injury aside, Niclas Fullkrug's transition from Champions League finalist to mid-table bench warmer is one the striker won't be too proud of. In the summer, the target man was at the peak of his career.
He was agonisingly close to grabbing a goal against Real Madrid at Wembley, was a handful the entire game and then received a call-up to the Euro 2024 Germany squad, with the tournament taking place in his home country. In England, Fullkrug has been plagued by the same issue many other number nines have faced before him: the Michail Antonio curse. No matter who is bought in to replace him, it seems the Irons would always revert to their ever-reliable all-time top Premier League goalscorer.
Hannover-born, the ex-Dortmund talisman has struck just once in 182 minutes of action for the east Londoners. 8 Ilkay Gundogan A bonafide Manchester City legend thanks to the instrumental part he has played in their Premier League dominance over the years, fans were distraught after Ilkay Gundogan left in the summer of 2023 for sunny Barcelona. It didn’t take long for Gundogan to complete a sensational homecoming, as the summer after, he was back under Guardiola’s spell.
Three former Arsenal stars feature among the 10 greatest Germans to play in the Premier League. But this time around, things are much less fruitful with the central midfielder, who is typically remembered as a reliable presence in the middle of the park, not at the races without the talismanic Rodri by his side. The reigning champions have struggled in the Spaniard’s absence in general, but his partner in crime and five-time Premier League winner, Gundogan, has missed him most.
7 Matthijs de Ligt Of the signings that came into Old Trafford under the supposedly revolutionary new football regime at Manchester United, none excited fans quite like Matthijs de Ligt . A world-class defender whose stats rivalled those of the top players in the league , this was a move that was bound to solve United's defensive frailties. The Dutchman was nothing short of a liability at the Theatre of Dreams in the infancy of his career with his current employers, with his positioning being slandered and rightfully so.
One of De Ligt's supposed strongest assets is his mental toughness, and he's used that to great effect in recent weeks by proving what he is worth. Now, Ruben Amorim and his entourage just need a layer of consistency to get over what has been a rocky start to life in England. 6 Raheem Sterling Raheem Sterling ’s loan move from Chelsea to Arsenal suited all parties: the latter were receiving a serial Premier League winner and the winger himself was, hopefully, enjoying some much-needed game time.
It’s been a far from pretty start to life in north London, however, as Sterling, 30, has failed to pull up trees per se. Given very little opportunity to shine by Mikel Arteta and his entourage, the left-winger – one of the greatest English attackers in football history – has chalked up a paltry 426 minutes of action across all competitions. In that time, one goal has been scored, and he’s also assisted teammates on two occasions.
It’s not exactly the type of form that causes your stock to increase, is it? The 10 most disrespected players in football history have been ranked, including Raheem Sterling, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. 5 Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall Fifty-five minutes of Premier League action for £30 million? It makes you wonder whether Chelsea really needed Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Sure, the midfielder was a key part of Enzo Maresca's midfield at Leicester City, so you can understand the appeal from the player and manager's perspectives.
But with Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez ahead of him, two £100 million men are unlikely to be usurped. The Englishman has been a positive feature in the Europa Conference League . However, it was hardly his dream to move to Stamford Bridge and play on Thursday nights and dead rubber League Cup fixtures against lesser-known opposition.
Whether Maresca has plans to use the former Fox more often in the second half of the season remains to be seen - but it's been the mother of all disasters thus far. 4 Kalvin Phillips The man that Gareth Southgate couldn't replace . This is interesting because, with his current form, Kieran McKenna is probably feeling a different way.
Truth is, Kalvin Phillips has not been the same player since joining Manchester City, and he looks like a man devoid of any sort of self-belief or confidence. His loan spell at West Ham last season was so disappointing that his biggest contribution to them came this season when he lost possession in advance to the Hammers scoring against Ipswich. It begs the very important question of whether fans at Portman Road will ever get to see the 'Yorkshire Pirlo' in full force.
At the moment, it seems unlikely. 3 Eddie Nketiah A fresh start in a different part of London for Eddie Nketiah is yet to prove fruitful. The former Gunner had plenty of admirers over the summer, but his £30 million move to Crystal Palace has yet to see anything noteworthy take place.
So far, the young striker has scored just two goals, both in the Carabao Cup, and has failed to regularly lay claim to a starting berth. GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: In his 127-game Premier League career, Nketiah has scored 19 goals and plundered a further six assists. His crowing moment since his across-London switch, the centre forward did manage to score against his former employers recently.
On the whole, the Eagles have not been the same impressive unit that Oliver Glasner turned them into immediately after his arrival last season, so it is not all Nketiah's fault. That being said, the 25-year-old needs to start showing his worth as he can no longer rely on potential handing him opportunities. 2 Joshua Zirkzee The issue Joshua Zirkzee is currently having at Old Trafford is that he either looks like a superb signing or the total opposite.
There is simply no in-between. A debut winning goal at the Stretford End and then an impressive display against Southampton are the only two positives. The rest, he has come across as a player who is not working as hard as he should, shades of what Vincent Kompany once called him out for at Anderlecht.
When he is off the boil, there is no sign of the hold-up play and the quick feet he clearly possesses. That's not to mention that, in front of goal, he's far from clinical. With Rasmus Hojlund returning to fitness, it's hard to see where the Dutchman fits in as Amorim looks to improve the club's aspirations.
1 Joao Felix What were Chelsea crying out for all summer? A striker. What did they absolutely not need? A player who best operates as a number 10 or on either flank. So when the obvious options of Ivan Toney and Victor Osimhen were waiting to be snapped up, the Blues went down a route they had already tried previously and didn't like.
The Premier League has many players who fans were too hasty to predict big things from. There is no doubt Joao Felix has talent. There is also no doubt that Atletico Madrid was not the best place for him to showcase it.
But Stamford Bridge is hardly any better. There is no chance of the Portuguese international unseating Cole Palmer, and the likes of Noni Madueke and Jadon Sancho have been too good to drop. It makes you wonder why this move was ever sanctioned.
Statistics are courtesy of Transfermarkt - correct as of 21/12/24..
