Worst Premier League Signings of the Season
With the 2023/24 Premier League campaign now over, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the season. Manchester City ran out victorious once more, winning their fourth straight title having been pushed by both Arsenal and Liverpool. At the bottom end of the table, all three promoted clubs suffered an immediate return to the Championship without much of a fight. Elsewhere, the story of the season was Aston Villa, as they secured a top-four finish and a return to the UEFA Champions League for the first time since the tournament rebranding in the early 1990s.
However, for all the positive, there is always a negative ready to balance things out. There have been some great signings made throughout the year, but also, there have been plenty of stinkers. Here are the worst signings of the 2023/24 Premer League season.
Mason Mount
Since breaking into the Chelsea squad during Frank Lampard’s reign, Mason Mount became a crucial figure for both club and country. However, those days are now long gone, and the former Derby County loanee is nowhere near Gareth Southgate’s England squad.
With Euro 2024 a matter of weeks away, Paddy Power has made the Three Lions the early favorite for glory, pricing them as short as 3/1 to lift the trophy in Berlin on July 14th. The Irish Giant will be covering the Germany-hosted spectacle closely, with plenty of promotions and free bets. They will also provide their usual wide array of table games such as casino roulette at Paddy’s and blackjack which remain as popular as ever.
One man however that needs no detaching from the Euros is Mount, as he won’t be featuring at all. Southgate has opted to leave his 36-cap star at home, and it’s clear why. After leaving Stamford Bridge to head to Manchester United last summer for an eye-watering £55m, there were plenty of lofty expectations for the 25-year-old. To say he hasn’t lived up to them would be an understatement.
Mount featured just 14 times for the Red Devils in the Premier League last term, netting just once. A calf injury meant that he missed a huge chunk of the campaign, and upon his return to full fitness, he found his spot in the team claimed by an academy product. Hardly, worth over £50m, and he may well be on his way out of Old Trafford already.
Christopher Nkunku
Christopher Nkunku arrived at Chelsea from RB Leipzig last summer for a mighty £52m and too much fanfare. Throughout his stint in Germany, the French international became one of the most sought-after strikers on the continent. The Blues won the race for his signature, looking to solve the striking curse that has plagued them since the departure of Didier Drogba some time ago. As luck would have it, their new hitman was crocked in the preseason, and he never had the chance to recover.
Perhaps it’s harsh on Nkunku to call him the worst signing of the season, but when you pay such a vast sum of money on a striker, you expect him to play and score goals. He was out injured until December, scored on his debut against the Wolves, then got injured again six weeks later. In all, he made just 14 appearances in all competitions, netting three times. HE may come good in the future, but he has been one of the worst signings of the 2023/24 season.
