5. Wilson Palacios: Tottenham Hotspur to Stoke £8m
Three or four years ago, Palacios was arguably one of the best midfielders in the Barclays Premier League. His unbelievable work rate and excellent defensive midfield play meant that he became a very core member of the Tottenham Hotspur team. His promising career was wrecked by injuries and by personal grievances (his brother, Edwin, was kidnapped and murdered), which led to Harry Redknapp offering him away from White Hart Lane. Stoke seized the opportunity and promptly signed the Honduran. His first season at the Britannia has been littered with lack-lustre performances. Although he has played 28 games this season he is a shadow of the player he once was. He plays far more conservatively and is far less mobile. His overall game suffers as a result.
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| Image Courtesy of Metro |
6. Gervinho: Lille to Arsenal £10.8m
The Ivorian winger had a brilliant season at Lille winning the French league before switching to Arsenal in the summer of 2011. The expectations were justifiably high for a supposedly quick and skillful player who was to give another dimension to Arsenal’s attack. His Arsenal career started with being sent off in his first game against Newcastle for a brawl with Joey Barton. After this however he played relatively well. He was beginning to grow in confidence and he was linking up with prolific goal scorer Robin van Persie and in the process even grabbing a couple of goals himself. However, in the final of the African Cup of Nations Final this year he missed the decisive penalty, which effectively lost his country the competition. Since then, it is clear to all that his performances have been underwhelming. His inability to track back in defence as well as being unable to cross well or play that final pass has meant that he will struggle to stay in the first team for Gunners next season.
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| Image Courtesy of The Guardian |
