The top 10 worst January transfers

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13 April 2012

The January transfer window never fails to bring in a fine array of truly awful footballers. Players who appear to have never even kicked a ball before flock to these shores as teams go crazy in their hunt for a bargain.

With millions being spent every year on over-the-hill journeymen, fat hoofers, and players who are "unknown" for a reason, here is our definitive guide to the top 10 worst January signings of all time. Have we missed anyone?

10 James Beattie, 5 January 2005, Southampton to Everton

At Southampton he couldn't stop scoring. At Everton he couldn't start. Unveiled as the Toffees most expensive signing, £6m, it took Beattie a year before he became truly awful. His link-up with strike partner Andy Johnson was non-existent and in the summer of 2007 David Moyes scratched his head and pondered who he should get rid of. No prizes for guessing how that turned out.

9 Lee Bowyer, 6 January 2003, Leeds United to West Ham

At Leeds, Bowyer was an exciting young English prospect. Then he was involved in the infamous nightclub incident and his life somewhat fell apart. Unfortunately for the Hammers, so did his football. In his first spell at West Ham he was a shadow of his former self, always a yard off the pace. Bowyer was later to leave for Newcastle, where after several fights, he returned to Upton Park.

8 Fernando Morientes, 13 January 2005, Monaco to Liverpool

For Spain and Real Madrid he scored sublime goals. For Liverpool, he couldn't hit a barn door. At the time £6.3m seemed like a bargain for a player of his caliber. And yet 18 months later Liverpool were lucky to get £3m for him. Morientes went back to Spain and scored 18 goals in 28 games for Valencia and earned a call up to the Spain squad. Rafa must have been livid.

7 Jan Kromkamp, 4 January 2006, Villarreal to Liverpool

Rafael Benitez's worst ever signing, and that's a bold statement. Rafa brought the Dutchman to Liverpool in a part-exchange deal with Josemi, who was also pretty useless, going the other way. If Steve Finnan had been worried about a younger defender coming in, he needn't have been. Kromkamp was woeful. More suited to the slow passing of the Dutch leagues than the pace of the Premier League.

6 Djimi Traore, 11 January 2007, Charlton Athletic to Portsmouth

Liverpool's weak link became Charlton's, and then Portsmouth's. In a spot of wheeler-dealing Harry Redknapp spent £1m on the Frenchman and Charlton laughed all the way to the bank. The following January, having played 12 games for Pompey, he moved to Rennes on loan. How did that man ever win a European Cup winners medal?

5 Ricardo Rocha, 23 January 2007, Benfica to Tottenham

Brought in as cover for injury-ridden captain Ledley King, Rocha was yet another Tottenham defensive failure. Spurs spent more than £3m on the Portuguese plodder who signed a three-and-a-half-year deal. Four months later he requested a transfer.

4 Eric Djemba-Djemba, 31 January 2005, Man United to Aston Villa

So bad they named him twice. United signed Djemba-Djemba as a potential replacement for Old Trafford legend Roy Keane. Unfortunately he was so horrendous Ferguson flogged him to Villa for £1.5m where he made a handful of appearances, usually as a substitute, before Martin O'Neill loaned him to Burnley. His contract at Villa was not renewed.

3 Michael Ricketts, 31 January 2003, Bolton to Middlesbrough

Up there with the worst of them. At the beginning of the 2003 season things were looking good for Ricketts. The previous year he had bagged 15 goals for Bolton, and earned himself an England call up - appearing against Holland. Then he fell out with Sam Allardyce and was shipped out to Middlesbrough where his career fell apart. A year-and-a-half later the striker joined Leeds on a free transfer having scored the grand total of three goals.

2 Nigel Quashie, 17 January 2005, Portsmouth to Southampton

A journeyman's journeyman. QPR, Nottingham Forrest, Portsmouth, Southampton, West Brom, West Ham, and Birmingham, Quashie's played for them all. You have to be worried if your club buys the harbinger of death this January. Bryan Robson said he had the "experience of relegation fights". I wonder why that is?

1 Jean-Alain Boumsong, 1 January 2005, Rangers to Newcastle

Boumsong. The very name sends shudders down the spine of any Newcastle United fan. To the rest of the footballing world, cue mass hysteria. A first class donkey who somehow cost Newcastle a stunning £8m. And Rangers had got him for free in the first place. Alongside Titus Bramble, Newcastle had a defence that could have been picked apart by a bunch of 12-year-old girls.

The top 10 worst January transfers

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