Transfer Deadline Day: Top 5 Premier League Signings That Didn’t Meet Expectations

• The Premier League summer transfer window closes tonight
• Clubs are hurrying to buy and sell to fill their squads until at least January
• Transfer business is risky business and some deals have proven disastrous in the past

Why wait till the deadline day when you can get it done earlier? This question can be asked of football clubs that often make quick decisions and negotiations on transfer deadline day.

Many do this after spending months lagging in negotiations for their top targets. They move swiftly for alternatives, which are sometimes cheaper, or even reactivate heavy release clauses.

Sports Brief looks at Premier League clubs' top 5 most disastrous transfer deadline day deals.

1. Andy Carroll

When Liverpool sold Fernando Torres to Chelsea for a British record fee of £50m, the Reds parted with £35m of that fee to sign his replacement Andy Carroll from Newcastle United. The move never worked and a return of six league goals in three seasons facilitated Carroll's exit to West Ham.

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2. Danny Drinkwater

Chelsea must have thought they were replicating the Premier League-winning duo at Leicester City when they signed Danny Drinkwater for £34m, a year after signing N'Golo Kante. Kante became a legend in blue, but his former partner was disastrous and is currently without a club.

3. Owen Hargreaves

Manchester City took a gamble on former Man United star Owen Hargreaves after he spent months out injured. The move never worked out for both sides and he was released a year later. He retired as a free agent afterwards.

4. Radamel Falcao

Falcao was in blistering goal-scoring form at his previous clubs before he sealed a loan move to Manchester United. He scored once in 29 appearances for the Red Devils. As reported by the Daily Star, Chelsea failed to learn from this and signed him on loan the following season. He was released a year later after one goal in 12 games.

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5. Robinho

As reported by Bleacher Report, when Manchester City missed out on Dimitar Berbatov in 2008, they signed Brazilian forward Robinho. His first season was decent but a lack of form and a poor attitude ruined his time at the club and he was shipped out.

Top 5 successful deadline deals

Sports Brief analysed the top 5 successful deadline day deals in the Premier League and it features top names who have graced the league, including the legendary Wayne Rooney.

Dimitar Berbatov, whom Man Utd hijacked from their city rivals, was a success, while the Cityzens' alternatives did not reach the heights expected of him.