The 2026 summer transfer window will go down in history as one of the weirdest we have ever seen. Inflation within football hit frankly insane heights as the most average players on the scene went for huge money. £100 million plus became the going rate for any good midfielder and the pressure to perform has been at a high for some of the major names to make a move. While it is still early in the season, there’s enough to go off for us to see that some of these moves just have not worked out, so we’ll be looking at who we see as the biggest flops of the transfer window so far.
Goncalo Ramos
Years removed from his peak in the West of Europe, Goncalo Ramos had a mixed spell at Paris Saint-Germain where Luis Enrique’s tactical evolution eventually saw him left out in the cold in favour of more versatile profiles. He had a chance to revive his career this summer as he got a big move to AC Milan, a stumbling giant in need of a resurgence of its own,
Instead, Ramos has failed to make a mark, he has just one goal and one assist so far with the Serie A side despite playing over 600 minutes of football across all competitions. Statistically, he’s taking bad shots, with a rather poor xG per 90 of 0.34 from around 3.5 shots per outing. So far, he is where their attacks go to get swallowed up instead of put away.
Savio
At one point in time, Savio was tearing it up for Girona before slamming into a wall during his time at Manchester City where he failed to break into the starting unit. A big move to Tottenham Hotspur was meant to be part of their revival under Roberto de Zerbi but like most things it hasn’t gone to plans for the Lilywhites.
In league outings, the former Girona attacker has failed to register a goal or assist in 300+ minutes, his statistics are abysmal with expected goals and assists per 90 at less than 0.2 each. For all his dribbling and passing, the lack of end product is going to be worrisome.
Bradley Barcola
Liverpool pulled off a major splash when they signed Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain. The French attacker looked absolute class for the Parisians and his nation over the past few years and looked like the exact winger who could pull the Reds’ attacking unit together.
The reality has been very different, he has struggled to get up to speed in the Premier League, dropping mostly average performances, failing to register many dangerous shots or even effective dribbles. A hat trick against LASK could spur him on to improve but as of now he looks like a disappointing addition who Liverpool overspent on.
Mateus Fernandes
Nothing quite evidenced the baffling midfield market over the summer more than Mateus Fernandez getting relegated and still setting Tottenham back around £80 million. The midfielder soon found himself out in the cold, benched for his club and stuck playing got Portugal at U21 level. He was given garbage minutes against Manchester United and clearly has a long way to go to earn his manager’s trust.
Yan Diomande
By now, most major clubs are afraid of Bundesliga attackers, they tend to struggle translating their game to leagues outside of Germany but that didn’t stop Yan Diomande from garnering major attention this summer. PSG, Liverpool, and others were all interested before he eventually signed for Real Madrid. He’s so far been in and out of the lineup with just one goal and two assists to his name.
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