For all the money that gets pumped into the Premier League as of late, teams have access to global scouting networks across the world, looking to attract the best players to one of the most competitive divisions in Europe.
Since signing a new broadcasting deal, teams have been splashing the cash, but not every big transfer hits the ground running.
While there will always be the cliches tossed around of “he needs time to fit in” and excuses of a bedding-in process will justify a player’s absence of form in the early weeks of the campaign, we are approaching a time where we’ve now had two international breaks, with lots of exciting games on the betting exchange, as well as plenty of opportunities to assess whether a player is really cut out for the job or whether a club has wasted their money.
With that in mind, we go through some players that joined the Premier League this summer and simply haven’t hit the heights they were supposed to yet.
PatsonDaka – Leicester City
When Leicester City shelled out over £25 million for RB Salzburg forward PatsonDaka, Foxes fans must have been overjoyed and thought they had found a long-term successor for Jamie Vardy.
On paper, the Zambian ticks all the right boxes — fast, strong and possessing the unique ability to arrive in the box at the right moments, sadly, Daka hasn’t lived up to expectations so far at the King Power.
Having just started a handful of games for the Foxes there is plenty of time to turn his fortunes around in the Midlands, but Leicester fans are all too familiar with forward flops, having dealt with the likes of Islam Slimani, Rachid Ghezzal and Ahmed Musa all arriving for big money and not producing the goods.
Jadon Sancho – Manchester United
A transfer that was a year in the making, Jadon Sancho finally got his move to Manchester United this summer for £73 million from Borussia Dortmund, but the dream transfer to Old Trafford has been a nightmare so far.
Sancho looks bereft of confidence, a far cry from the tricky winger we saw twist up the Bundesliga and instead one that seems weighed down, either by his own personal expectations or the sizeable price tag on his head.
At just 22, Sancho has years ahead of him and players like Luke Shaw demonstrate you can have a bad first season and still manage to turn things around.
However, the longer Sancho goes without a goal or an assist, having not produced anything in front of goal across all competitions, the more questions will be asked and with Marcus Rashford’s imminent return, his days as a regular starter could be numbered.
Francisco Trincão– Wolves
Barcelona’s financial troubles were no more apparent than when they were forced to send talented winger Francisco Trincão out on loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Bruno Lage has added to the already sizeable Portuguese contingent at Molineux this summer but the 21-year-old has struggled to impress, with his only goal so far coming in the League Cup.
You get the feeling that with Trincão, there is a great player locked away somewhere and under the right circumstances they can come out and become truly brilliant, although we aren’t too sure the Black Country is the right environment.
With the Premier League being as physical as it is, the youngster still seems a bit lightweight and would suit a team that sees more of the ball, allowing him the time and space to complete his mazy dribbles with more efficiency.
Time will tell if he can turn things around as if so, it will be interesting to see if Wolves wish to make the move permanent.
This article was most recently revised and updated 2 years ago
