The five worst Premier League transfers of the season

Cameron Smith

Updated: 6 May 2025 05:18 CDT
4 min read

The Premier League is by far the richest division in European football at present, yet clubs in the English top flight still make high-profile transfer errors on a yearly basis.

Article continues under the video

This campaign has been no different and a number of summer signings have flopped massively this year.

Below, FootballTransfers runs through the five worst Premier League transfers of the season.

Joao Felix - €52m (Atletico Madrid to Chelsea)

Joao Felix was expected to become the future of POrtuguese football following his breakthrough at Benfica, but his career has nosedived since leaving his homeland and he is now at an all-time low.

He joined Chelsea on a permanent deal for just over €50m last summer, but the deal was only completed in order to ensure Conor Gallagher moved in the opposite direction and Felix was unable to work his way into Enzo Maresca’s preferred starting XI.

After only three Premier League starts, Felix was sent on loan to AC Milan in January and he has fared similarly miserably at San Siro. An immediate sale beckons, although Chelsea could be forced to accept a loss.

Joshua Zirkzee - €42.5m (Bologna to Man Utd)

Manchester United won the race for Joshua Zirkzee’s signature last July and at the time, that was seen as a major coup given his fantastic final season at Bologna.

However, Zirkzee has failed to adapt to Premier League football and a hamstring injury has ensured his debut campaign at Man Utd has ended with only seven goals in 48 appearances.

A return to Serie A has been heavily mooted and Zirkzee could be offloaded in order for Man Utd to make room for Liam Delap, Victor Osimhen or Viktor Gyokeres.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - €35.4m (Leicester to Chelsea)

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was Leicester City’s best player during their Championship-winning season and he opted to follow Enzo Maresca to Chelsea following the Italian’s appointment at Stamford Bridge.

However, the Englishman has simply failed to break into the Blues’ best team. Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and even Reece James are preferred in a deep midfield role, while Cole Palmer is a guaranteed starter in the No.10 position.

As a result, Dewsbury-Hall has been forced to settle for game time in cup competitions and for just over €35m, he has been an underwhelming transfer.

Eddie Nketiah - €29.7m (Arsenal to Crystal Palace)

Eddie Nketiah showed bundles of promise at Arsenal and it looked as though a move away from the Emirates Stadium would likely kickstart his career.

If anything, however, he has gone backwards since joining Crystal Palace and that is largely down to Jean-Philippe Mateta.

The Frenchman has been in immense form this campaign and this has left Nketiah as a glorified super sub - despite the fact that he is Palace’s second most expensive signing in history.

Current ETV

Edward Nketiah

F (C)

C. Palace

Edward Nketiah

F (C)

C. Palace

ETV Range

€22.3M - €27.3M

Oliver Skipp - €23.5m (Tottenham to Leicester)

Leicester City produced one of the worst Premier League seasons in recent memory during the 2024-25 campaign, yet Oliver Skipp could barely get a look in.

The Englishman was always fairly highly-rated at Tottenham Hotspur and he was expected to provide much-needed midfield quality to a Leicester side who had lost the aforementioned Dewsbury-Hall.

However, Skipp only started seven of Leicester’s league fixtures, despite being named in the matchday squad on 31 occasions, and his €23.5m arrival looks like a massive overpay in hindsight.

The FootballTransfers app

Check out FootballTransfers' new app for all of football's big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.

The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:

•Google Play

•App Store