Wout Weghorst joined Burnley billed as the man primed to save them from relegation from the Premier League. Five months later and just two goals to his name, the Dutchman has confirmed he won’t play for the Clarets again after their relegation to the Championship.
It is safe to say that the big gamble – somewhat literally at nearly 2 metres tall – failed to pay off and, wherever the 29-year-old ends up, it might be sometime before Weghorst’s name is heard again on these shores.
However, there might be some solace for the striker in the fact that he is not the only one to dip and dash in the Premier League with little to show for their efforts.
While there have been some legendary names such as Wayne Rooney, Thierry Henry and Alan Shearer – there have been some stinkers like Ricky van Wolfswinkel, Roberto Soldado and Gonzalo Higuain.
Andreas Cornelius
When clubs come up from the Championship, it is no surprise to see them splash the cash and try bring in a source of goals – seemingly from random places in the world – and that is exactly what Cardiff did in 2013 when they got promoted and broke their record transfer fee to bring Cornelius to Wales.
Just eight Premier League appearances and absolutely zero goals arguably make the Dane one of the worst strikers the top-tier has ever seen.
Alexandre Pato
As bizarre as it was wonderful, Pato joined Chelsea in a shock loan move from Corinthians in January 2016 but was largely left either on the bench or not in the squad at all.
In his first actual Premier League appearance in April, the Brazilian won a penalty and scored it – leaving fans baffled over where he had been this whole time.
Albert Luque
An absolute Premier League legend for all the wrong reasons, Luque signed for Newcastle for a sizeable £9million at the time but failed to live up to the price tag.
However, Magpies will appreciate that he saved his only goal in the league for the Tyne-Wear derby against Sunderland.
Kostas Mitroglou
Fulham appeared to be pulled in by his “Mitrogoal” nickname when they signed the Greek striker for £12m in January 2014 to save them from the drop.
Well, after netting exactly nought as the Cottagers suffered relegation, it is fair to say Mitroglou did not live up to his moniker.
Andriy Voronin
Liverpool were commended back in 2007 when it was announced that Voronin would be signing on a free transfer from Bayer Leverkusen but it became clear that the Ukrainian was not the answer.
Five goals during his three years at Anfield, which included a one year spell at Hertha Berlin on loan.
Gonzalo Higuain
Maurizio Sarri was desperate to be reunited with Higuain at Chelsea after the two cracked on at Napoli in fine fashion. However, all that effort in the transfer window was for nothing with the Argentine scoring just five times.
Roberto Soldado
After Tottenham sold Gareth Bale, they went on a spending spree that included the signing of Soldado – who had just scored 30 goals for Valencia the year before. That form did not translate in this country, though, scoring just seven times in the Premier League over two seasons.
Bernardo Corradi
Before the gazillions poured into Manchester City, they had to settle for less-than glamorous names and that included Corradi, who managed three goals in his only season at the club. A return to Italy beckoned with spells at Parma, Reggina and Udinese.
Ricky van Wolfswinkel
Remember when we said that relegation-threatened clubs broke the bank to sign strikers from obscurity? Well, Norwich took a leaf out of Cardiff’s books when they signed Van Wolsfwinkel after a reasonably impressive spell in Portugal. One Premier League goal later and that was that for the Dutchman.
