- 22 hours ago
The five worst La Liga transfers of the season
Cameron Smith
- 8 May 2025 10:00 CDT
- 4 min read
Analysis
The 2024 summer transfer window in La Liga was fairly successful on the whole, with several new additions hitting the ground immediately at their new clubs.
However, a number of new signings haven’t quite lived up to expectations.
Below, FootballTransfers runs through the five worst La Liga transfers of the season.
Endrick - €47.5m (Palmeiras to Real Madrid)
There is a high likelihood that Endrick will become a roaring success at Real Madrid in the future, but his debut campaign at the Santiago Bernabeu has been extremely underwhelming.
The Brazilian wonderkid has started just one La Liga match at the time of writing, while he has been an unused substitute on more than 20 occasions across all competitions.
Although his first season will have been a learning curve for the teenager, Endrick was expected to play a far more prominent role, especially given his €47.5m price tag.
Orri Oskarsson - €20m (Copenhagen to Real Sociedad)
Orri Oskarsson netted seven goals in just 12 games for Copenhagen at the start of the 2024-25 season and this prompted Real Sociedad to spend €20m to sign him on Transfer Deadline Day.
In the process, he became the club’s joint-most expensive signing in history, but the Iceland striker has failed to live up to expectations.
Oskarsson has only scored three goals in La Liga so far this term and he has been unable to establish himself as a guaranteed starter.
Yaser Asprilla - €18m (Watford to Girona)
Following Savinho’s move to Manchester City in July, Girona were in need of a suitable replacement and they opted to sign Watford winger Yaser Asprilla for a club record fee of €18m.
Girona’s previous transfer record stood at just €9m, but they opted to spend double that amount to land Asprilla, and that decision now looks like a major error.
The Colombian has scored just three goals across all competitions during his debut campaign at Girona, while he has frequently been omitted from the starting XI since the beginning of 2025.
Alvaro Djalo - €15m (Braga to Athletic Club)
Athletic Club’s policy of only employing players from the Basque region means their transfer options are incredibly limited, but they decided to spend €15m on Alvaro Djalo during the 2024 summer transfer window after an eye-catching final season at Braga.
However, he has been forced to accept a rotation role at San Mames, with Nico and Inaki Williams preferred on either flank.
Djalo has only scored once since his arrival and he is set to end his debut campaign at Athletic Club with less than 1000 minutes of action played.
Current ETV
Álvaro Djaló
M (RL)
Athletic
Álvaro Djaló
M (RL)
Athletic
ETV Range
€7.6M - €10.3M
James Rodriguez - Free (Sao Paulo to Rayo Vallecano)
Following the success of Radamel Falcao’s spell at the club, Rayo Vallecano attempted a similar trick by signing James Rodriguez on a free transfer last August.
However, the Colombia legend was a disastrous addition.
Rodriguez only racked up 205 minutes of game time at Rayo Vallecano, he failed to register a single goal contribution and he left the club to join Club Leon on a Bosmal deal in January.
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