THERE we have it folks, the end of another fine and thrilling Premier League season.
Like many others before it, the 2016/17 campaign produced moments of joy, sadness, madness and laughter for fans all over the UK and the world.
However, there’s always those players that end up letting their side down isn’t there? Here are just ten of the worst players who really should’ve done better throughout the nine months …
Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle United to Tottenham Hotspur, £32m).
Everton fans must now be absolutely overjoyed at the fact that Spurs pipped them at the post at the last second to sign Frenchman Sissoko last summer.
After a fine Euro 2016 campaign on home soil with Les Bleus, the central midfielder was almost guaranteed to make the move away from relegated Newcastle United and sure enough he did.
He came ever so close to signing for Everton, until Tottenham came in for him in the dying hours of transfer deadline day and sealed the deal with a tear-jerking £30m sum.
Since then, he really has failed to justify that price tag spectacularly and has become a bit of a joke, even amongst Spurs fans. A sensational season for the likes of Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and even Mousa Dembele, saw him break into the first team as Spurs enjoyed their highest ever finish in the Premier League.
Better luck next season (probably away from the Prem) eh Moussa?
Jack Wilshere (Bournemouth on loan from Arsenal)
When Wilshere made this move, many laughed at him. I, however, thought that it could have been the move that made his career. I was wrong of course (and I even wrote a bloody article on it, d’oh!).
It had all started so well for “wheelchair” at the Vitality stadium, he was starting every game and became a key player in the heart of their midfield with his precise passing. He even managed to incredibly stay fully fit, something he had not done for a number of seasons at Arsenal.
HOWEVER, it wasn’t long until the injuries came back to haunt him.
Back in March, he picked up yet another leg injury, which then ruled him out for the season. If that wasn’t bad enough for the guy, he’s now facing an uncertain future back at his parent clubs as Arsene Wenger looks to trim his squad of deadwood players this summer.
If you look up “wasted talent” in the dictionary, I’m almost certain you’ll find a picture of Jack Wilshere there.
Borja Baston (Atletico Madrid to Swansea City, £15m).
The Jack army faithful must have been optimistic when the Swans decided to fork out £15m on Baston last summer, making him their record signing in the process.
It was a very high sum indeed for a player who was only a bit part player at Atletico Madrid at the time, but he had been very successful whilst out on loan at other clubs. 18 goals in 36 apps for Eibar, 22 in 38 for Zaragoza for example. He had talent.
Yet, the Spanish forward really struggled to get into a Swansea side who were seriously lacking in attacking prowess at times last season. He failed to break into the first team due to Fernando Llorente’s form and suffered an injury which niggled at him constantly throughout the campaign.
He finished the season with just ONE goal in the Premier League, which came in a 3-2 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Record signings aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, clearly.
Loic Remy (Crystal Palace on loan from Chelsea).
This move was so bad that I actually forgot this transfer had happened during last summer.
The move itself made perfect sense, Palace needed a decent striker to play up top with the hitman Christian Benteke, as the likes of Connor Wickham, Fraizer Campbell and Marouane Chamakh were just not up to the task.
Remy came to the club as a proven Premier League goal scorer, having already banged them in at QPR, Newcastle and even at Chelsea, where he rarely played. Fans of the league will know that he possesses wicked pace and can pop up with goals from anywhere at times, he certainly never lacked confidence.
So, this move should have worked out. It didn’t though obviously, cos he’s made this list.
The former France international’s game time this season was restricted to jus 131 minutes (5 matches) and he failed to score a single goal during that time.
One things for sure, the move was a real career changer, unfortunately for Loic however it looks as though it might be changing for the bad.
Vincent Janssen (AZ Alkmaar to Tottenham Hotspur, £17m).
When Spurs bought Janssen in last summer, I, alongside many others, thought that they may have bagged themselves a real bargain, after all £17m isn’t too much to pay for a decent striker nowadays.
He came to England, with an incredible record of 27 goals in 34 Eredivisie matches for AZ and looked for all the world like he could become the next Dirk Kuyt or Robin Van Persie, with his goals scoring abilities. He was also very strong and could use both his feet very well when going for goal.
However, fast forward to now and he’s very much considered as a huge flop.
Just two goals in his 27 Premier League appearances has seen the Dutchman almost forgotten about at White Hart Lane and with Harry Kane bang in form, it’s very hard to see a future for him in North London.
Taxi for Vincent I think!
I think a further mention also has to go to the following summer signings who have underperformed this season; Nolito, Claudio Bravo and John Stones (Manchester City), Brad Guzan (Middlesbrough), Wilfried Bony (Stoke City), Simone Zaza (West Ham) and of course everyone at Sunderland minus Jermain Defoe and Jordan Pickford (I’m going to miss taking the p*ss out of those guys!).
Keep an eye out for the top five signings article soon to come on AFEFotballNews!
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