Last night, Chelsea managed to sign Argentina youngster Enzo Fernandez at a British record-breaking fee of £107 million from Portuguese side Benfica, after a month of negotiations and intense deadline day discussions. This means that Enzo is now the most expensive Premier League transfer ever.
However, with a big transfer, comes big responsibility! All eyes are now going to be on the World Cup winner, and his every pass, ball recovery or loss, and any other aspect of his game are going to be put under tight scrutiny by fans and pundits in an effort to justify his big fee.
This is also because most of the players on the top 10 most expensive Premier League transfer list have not really delivered or put up performances that justify their transfer fees. Some are sitting on the bench while others are either loaned out or have permanently left their clubs; as listed below.
Jack Grealish (£103m)
Jack Grealish signed with Manchester City from Aston Villa two seasons ago but he has not truly lived up to his big-money transfer. In the first season, he was starved of minutes in Pep Guardiola’s team, but he has played more regularly this season. This could be his breakthrough season but that is yet to be seen.
Romelu Lukaku (£99.2m)
After going neck to neck with Cristiano Ronaldo in the Italian Serie A for the golden boot at Inter Milan, Chelsea splashed big money to bring Lukaku to Stamford Bridge but failed to settle in, and was loaned out back to Inter Milan after just one season. This was the second stint for Lukaku at Chelsea.
Paul Pogba (£92.3m)
Another player that did wonders in the Italian Serie A and prompted his former employers to break the bank to finance his return is Paul Pogba. Pogba never lived up to anyone’s expectations at Manchester United partly because the club failed to get him a good midfield partner to free him up, but also because he lost the hunger to replicate what he was doing for his country France at Manchester United. So, off to Juventus, he returned.
Antony (£83.6m)
Looking at Antony’s YouTube comps made Manchester United fans think they have got a golden player but he has only managed to replicate the “spin.” Although Antony has not produced to the highest level expected of him, he still has the time and potential to hit those highs, as this is only his first season in the Premier League, and has shown glimpses of what he can do in some games.
Harry Maguire (£76.6m)
Before signing at a record fee for Manchester United, Harry Maguire had cemented his place at Leicester City as one of the best defenders in the league. Over the years, his playing time at Manchester United has reduced significantly, thanks to his reckless and most times costly mistakes while playing. Currently, Maguire has lost his captaincy of the club to Bruno Fernandez, and his starting place to Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez. His future at Old Trafford hangs in balance.
Jadon Sancho (£74.8m)
Just a few years ago, Jadon Sancho was one of the most promising youngsters in world football because of the blistering performances he was putting up at Borussia Dortmund in Germany. It is these performances that attracted Manchester United to go big on him, but he has so far returned too little. Sancho has seen fewer minutes than he would have wanted because he hasn’t yet found his spark in the Premier League, and his injuries have not helped matters.
Romelu Lukaku (£74.5m)
Appearing twice on this list makes you understand what a player Lukaku has been in the previous few years. Lukaku was scoring left, right, and center for Everton and this made Manchester United think he would do the same for them in their pursuit of silverware post-Sir Alex Fergusson. Lukaku did pretty well in the first two seasons at Old Trafford but somewhat lost his footing and was shipped off to Inter Milan, where he found his footing again before making another record-breaking (then) move to Chelsea. We already know how that went.
Virgil van Dijk (£74.4m)
Currently the most successful big-money transfer on this list, van Dijk signed with Liverpool from Southampton and became an instant hit at Anfield, helping them win everything there is to win domestically and on the continent, for a club that had been starved of silverware for a long, long time.
Wesley Fofana (£70.7m)
Another big money move from Leicester City to a big club but is yet to settle in for Chelsea. This being his first season means he still has time to justify his transfer fee, just like Antony.
Will Enzo be a hit or miss? Eyes on the pitch.
