The Top Five Worst Signings From La Liga In Premier League History

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3 years ago

Categories: Galleries, Manchester City News

Tags: Arsenal, aston villa, Chelsea, Everton, leeds, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Southampton, spurs, West Ham, wolves

After looking at the worst signings from Serie A last week, this time we will be focusing on players who flopped after moving from Spain.

The switch from La Liga to the Premier League is not an adjustment that every footballer finds easy, and there are numerous examples where stars have flattered to deceive.

There are some high-profile signings on this list, which proves that no matter how good you are, acclimatising to the pace and physicality of English football is not straightforward.

Press the next page as we go through the five worst players to have signed from La Liga teams.

5) Roberto Soldado (Valencia to Tottenham – £26m)

Spurs looked to the Spanish striker for goals following the departure of Gareth Bale in 2013. He had been a prolific scorer for Valencia in his three seasons at the Mestalla but it didn’t translate to English football.

Soldado scored just six league goals during his first season at White Hart Lane, with only two of them coming from open play. He spent one more campaign with the club before being sold back to Spain for a loss.

4) Alvaro Morata (Real Madrid to Chelsea – £60m)

The Spaniard had a good reputation during spells with both Juventus and Real Madrid, but his goal return of 15 goals in his first season was not what Blues fans were expecting after the club spent a sizeable amount of money.

After making it known that he wished to leave, Morata was loaned out Atletico Madrid just 18 months after his arrival at Stamford Bridge. He moved on a permanent basis last summer.

3) Shkodran Mustafi (Valencia to Arsenal – £35m)

The German managed to last four and a half years at the Emirates, despite a string of individual mistakes during his time with the Gunners.

Mustafi was used regularly in his first three campaigns at Arsenal but he was eventually sidelined following the appointment of Mikel Arteta. He was allowed to leave on a free transfer earlier this year.

2) Kepa Arrizabalaga (Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea – £71.6m)

The Spaniard remains the world’s most expensive goalkeeper and, despite a decent first season with the Blues, his last two years at Stamford Bridge have been extremely disappointing.

Kepa was dropped a number of times by Frank Lampard during his second campaign at the club and was eventually replaced by Edouard Mendy. He remains the club’s number two under Thomas Tuchel.

1) Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid to Manchester United – £59.7m)

The Argentinian international was a British record signing in 2014, and it looked to be a good piece of business, having had a successful four-year stint at Real Madrid.

However, Di Maria struggled to adapt to the Premier League, and left Old Trafford for Paris Saint-Germain after just one season, amid reports that his wife hated living in Manchester.