As the richest and most celebrated division in world football, the Premier League has never struggled to attract the planet's most gifted footballers.
Maestros like Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Eden Hazard have all arrived in the Premier League since its inception in 1992, leaving behind lasting legacies, adoring fan clubs and a litany of unforgettable moments.
However, there have been more than a few duds over the years, too. The Premier League has not always boasted the best in class, with plenty having ended up shockingly out of their depth when attempting to make their name in England's top flight.
90min ranks the unfortunate ten worst players in Premier League history - nothing personal, fellas.
Sean Dundee of Liverpool
Sean Dundee struggled at Anfield / Clive Brunskill/GettyImages
Sean Dundee had scored 61 times in the Bundesliga prior to his arrival at Liverpool, a record that filled the club's supporters with hope that he may be able to provide at least a fraction of that number on Merseyside.
The South Africa-born striker was only ever recruited as a back-up option but his impressive performances with Karlsruher failed to translate to the Premier League.
Dundee made a meagre three goalless appearances in the league for the Reds before slinking back to Germany for £1m the summer after he signed. Considering Liverpool bought him for £2m, it wasn't great.
Jozy Altidore
Altidore struggled at Hull and Sunderland / Victor Fraile/GettyImages
Jozy Altidore's first stint in the Premier League was extremely underwhelming. A season-long loan with Hull City resulted in just a solitary goal in 28 outings while leading the line as the Tigers dropped into the Championship. Unsurprisingly, they passed on the chance to sign the American permanently.
Altidore's horror spell with Hull had seemingly been forgotten several years later as Sunderland took a punt on the bulky striker after he had rebuilt his career in the Netherlands with AZ Alkmaar.
The Premier League proved a step too far for Altidore once more, however, with one goal in 42 appearances between 2013 and 2015. Two strikes in a collective 70 outings is as unfortunately as bad as it gets for a centre forward.
Malcolm Couzens Archive
Balaban was far from prolific / Malcolm Couzens/GettyImages
Speaking of misfiring and uninspiring Premier League strikers, enter Bosko Balaban. The Croatian made a slow start to his career in his homeland but two prolific seasons with Rijeka and then Dinamo Zagreb caught Aston Villa's eye.
It's fair to say Villa's eyes were swiftly blinded by the wasteful centre-forward, who managed a grand tally of zero goals in eight outings for the Midlands club.
The £5.8m signing eventually departed on a free transfer to Club Brugge and has since blamed Villa for not giving him a proper chance to find some form.
Soccer - Barclays Premier League - Manchester United v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Bebe largely spent his Man Utd career out on loan / Matthew Ashton/GettyImages
Portuguese side Vitoria de Guimaraes turned a quick profit on Bebe. Signing him on a free transfer, they then saw him leave just over a month later without playing a competitive game for the club. Manchester United splashed the £7.8m needed to bring the forward on board.
Portugal had been a popular hunting spot for Man Utd in previous years but Bebe failed to reach the same levels as Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani. He made just two Premier League appearances for the Red Devils before being shipped out on multiple loans abroad.
Four years after he arrived, Bebe was eventually turfed out of Old Trafford having barely donned a red shirt, with Benfica putting the winger out of his misery.
Eric Djemba-Djemba of Manchester United running with the ball
Djemba-Djemba stood out for all the wrong reasons at Old Trafford / Laurence Griffiths/GettyImages
Man Utd were famed for their impressive success rate in the transfer market under Alex Ferguson but they did sign a fair few shockers on the Scotsman's watch. That's to be expected across almost three decades.
Eric Djemba-Djemba - who, unlike Jay-Jay Okocha, was not so good that they named him twice - arrived at Old Trafford in 2003 following a successful spell with Nantes. The Cameroonian midfielder quickly became renowned for his overly physical approach, but he failed to match that with the necessary ability to thrive in Manchester.
20 Premier League appearances later and Djemba-Djemba was given a second shot at Aston Villa, but his stint at Villa Park was arguably even worse as he was sold just two years after his arrival.
Christian Poulsen
Poulsen flopped at Anfield / Alex Livesey/GettyImages
Christian Poulsen represents Liverpool's darkest days in the Premier League era. Roy Hodgson's torrid and short spell with the Reds was littered with bad signings, but even the likes of Joe Cole, Milan Jovanovic and Danny Wilson did better than the Dane.
The midfielder, who quickly established himself as an uninspiring and technically questionable option in the engine room, would make just 12 Premier League appearances for the Reds before being sold to Evian the following summer.
It was £4.5m down the drain for Liverpool, who couldn't get the best out of the 92-cap Denmark international. He did little to help himself on Merseyside.
Massimo Taibi of Manchester United
Taibi made some clangers with Man Utd / Ross Kinnaird/GettyImages
Being nicknamed 'The Blind Venetian' as a goalkeeper is not particularly encouraging. That's the fate that befell Italian stopper Massimo Taibi during his error-stricken and hopeless spell with Man Utd in the Premier League.
Signed to replace the injured Mark Bosnich in 1999, Taibi did little to reassure Man Utd fans of his quality, making just four appearances for the Red Devils and a handful of gaffes. Most famously, he allowed a tame Matt Le Tissier effort to roll through his legs during a 3-3 draw with Southampton.
Unsurprisingly, Taibi was sent out on loan just six months after his £4.5m arrival. He would never play again for Man Utd.
Milton Nunez
Nunez was an accidental signing for Sunderland / Clive Brunskill/GettyImages
Milton Nunez to Sunderland may be one of the strangest transfers in Premier League history. Signed by then Black Cats boss Peter Reid, the Honduran striker claimed that Sunderland actually meant to sign his compatriot and fellow PAOK forward Adolfo Valencia, but accidentally bought him by mistake.
That theory is somewhat supported by the fact that Nunez made just one Premier League appearance for Sunderland, which lasted a measly 15 minutes. £1.6m well spent, right?
There can't be many signings more catastrophic than this one, with Nunez spending the bulk of his career back in Honduras.
Savio Nsereko
Savio's move didn't work out / Hamish Blair/GettyImages
Savio Nsereko hadn't pulled up many trees prior to his arrival at West Ham United. He had scored just three senior goals for Brescia in 25 appearances but that was evidently enough for the Irons to spend approximately £9m on the Ugandan-born forward.
The youngster's promising form in Italy was not replicated in London, however, with Savio lasting just six months at West Ham before being shipped out to Fiorentina on a permanent deal.
Ten Premier League appearances resulted in no goals and some confused West Ham fans, who struggled to see the potential that the club's recruitment staff had evidently witnessed.
On this day in 1996, Ali Dia made his one and only appearance for Southampton's first team. pic.twitter.com/AKxaX9TBEN
— 90s Football (@90sfootball) November 23, 2024
Arguably the most famous transfer in Premier League history, there can be no doubting Ali Dia's spot as the worst the division has seen.
Signed by Southampton in 1996, the Senegalese striker was recruited by the Saints on account of a hoax phone call received by then manager Graeme Souness. Believing he was speaking to former Ballon d'Or winner George Weah - surprise, surprise, he wasn't - who was claiming to be Dia's cousin, the Scot was convinced to take a chance on the forward.
Having been playing for amateur club Blyth Spartans at the time, Dia was offered a one-month trial and turned out for his only Premier League appearance in a 2-0 victory over Leeds United before being released two weeks later.
Pretty embarrassing for all concerned.
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