Assignments: The failed transfers of the January window

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The January transfer window is known across Europe as an opportunity for teams to correct mistakes they have made in the summer, get stronger towards the crucial stages of the season, overcome long-term injuries and simply make spot changes. However, over the years, whether it’s time pressure or lack of supply, quite a few clubs have made moves that seemed puzzling at best and turned out to be particularly ridiculous later on, and here are a few of those mentioned.

Andy Carroll (Newcastle to Liverpool) – In January 2011, Liverpool parted ways with one of its big stars, Fernando Torres, who moved to Chelsea. In his place, she added two young strikers: Luis Suarez from Ajax and Andy Carroll from Newcastle. But while the Uruguayan became a dizzying success, the Englishman who was bought for a whopping £ 35million did not really deliver the goods, scoring just 11 goals in 58 appearances. Since then he has managed to play for West Ham, and in 2019 he returned to his youth team.

Julian Fouber (West Ham to Real Madrid) – In the winter of 2009, half a year before the Galacticos 2.0 revolution, Real Madrid were desperate to add a winger, and in the end the one who landed in the Spanish capital was the Frenchman who came on loan from West Ham. The balance in half a season? Only two appearances in the white uniform and one fall asleep on the substitutes’ bench at the Santiago Bernabeu, which unfortunately has become the most memorable moment of his tenure in Madrid.

Kim Kalstrom (Spartak Moscow to Arsenal) – The Swedish midfielder, who was previously considered a football manager’s legend, joined the on-loan players in January 2013, but arrived in London with a back injury. He nevertheless joined the Gunners, but due to his condition managed to record only four appearances, only in one of which he completed 90 minutes, before returning to Russia.

Kevin Prince Boateng (Sesotho to Barcelona) – About two years ago, Barça were looking for a backup for Luis Suarez, and surprised the whole of Europe when they loaned Sesuolo’s teenage striker on loan. Boateng didn’t really make a mark at Camp Nou, with just four appearances and no goals. Eventually, it turned out that Catalonia preferred to attach the derogatory over Arling Holland, which of course turned out in retrospect to be a terrible mistake.

Boateng smiled only at the beginning (getty)


Fangzhou Dong (Dalian Dresser for Manchester United) – Even before arriving in England, the Chinese striker scored only two senior goals, reinforcing the assessment that joining in 2004 was more of an economic reason for a wink to a market in the Far East than a professional one. In all, Dong belonged to the Red Devils for three and a half years, recording only three appearances in all settings, and being loaned once to Antwerp. After leaving Old Trafford in the summer of 2008, he managed to play in Poland, Portugal and Armenia, and ended his career in his homeland.

Kochi Shovels (Free Transfer to Newcastle) – In January 2011 the Magpies were so desperate for goals that they added the Finnish striker of Kosovar origin, in a signing that surprised even him, as he said in an interview. How did it end? 20 minutes spread over six appearances, zero goals and a release at the end of May of that year.

Muhammad Salah (Basel to Chelsea) – Today it is a bit strange to think of one of the biggest names in the Premier League as a puzzling transfer, but in the winter of 2014, after abusing Maccabi Tel Aviv, Salah landed at Samford Bridge for 16.5 million euros. But despite expectations, he did not really get along with Jose Mourinho and his career in the Blues amounted to 2 goals and 4 assists in 19 appearances, the questions to Fiorentina and Roma, and in the end a sale to Gallurussi for only 15 million euros. since? The Egyptian managed to become a legend in Liverpool and will forever be remembered as one of the great misses of Mourinho’s career.

Afonso Albash (Hornbain to Mildsbro) – The Brazilian, who is poorly remembered by Maccabi Haifa fans from his time in Malmö, displayed incredible conquest ability in the Netherlands (48 goals in 50 games), including setting a league record with a seven for the Hercules. In January 2008 he moved to Borough for € 20 million, but was unable to realize his potential mainly due to character issues. In the summer of 2009, after relegation from Middlesbrough, he left for Qatar, where he played for a number of teams until his retirement in 2013.

Antonio Nocherino (AC Milan to West Ham) – Whoever was the car player in Rossoneri and the Italian national team left surprisingly on loan to the Hammers, and in London were particularly excited about the arrival of a player of this size. Despite this, the Italian midfielder did not really manage to fit in, making only 10 appearances and returning to his homeland at the end of the season with his tail between his legs.

One of Chelsea’s misses (getty)

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