If Tottenham Hotspur are to complete the signings of Giovani Lo Celso and Ryan Sessengnon, then this summer transfer window should be labelled as a success.
Spurs fans were greeted with two signings in one week with Tanguy Ndombele’s deal being finalised shortly after Jack Clarke in early July. This came after supporters waited over 500 days for the club to make a first-team signing.
Spurs have made some excellent signings in recent years, such as the arrivals of Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen, Dele Alli…the list goes on.
However, the transfer window hasn’t always been plain sailing for the Club. There have been a number of players enter the doors at White Hart Lane who have not lived up to their potential and failed to justify their price tag that the Club purchased them for.
We list five of these players (unranked) who can be considered to be some of the worst signings Spurs have made in the Premier League era.
Kevin-Prince Boateng
The talent of Kevin-Prince Boateng is undeniable. However, during his time at Tottenham Hotspur he was never able to demonstrate his talent and potential.
Spurs paid £5.4million for Boateng from German club Hertha BSC in July 2007 (Irish Times). Shortly after his arrival, manager Martin Jol was sacked in favour of Juande Ramos.
Ramos gifted Boateng plenty of game time during the 2007/08 campaign, but eventually drifted away from Boateng.
When Harry Redknapp arrived, he mirrored the same attitude towards Boateng. He was initially favoured, but soon after played second fiddle to Jermaine Jenas and Luka Modric.
Spurs then sold the Ghanian-German to Portsmouth in August 2009. Adding insult to wound for Spurs, Boateng would score the winning goal for Portsmouth in the 2010 FA Cup semi-final.
Years later, former Spurs Director of Football Damien Comolli stated that the signing of Boateng brought him “regret” (Sky Sports Now show on Sky Sports News HQ (November 6 2015).
Comolli said “he was not ready to move to the Premier League, he was not ready to move to a different country.”
“We just looked at the talent. We forgot to look at the individual off the pitch, and that was probably our failure more than his.” Comolli added.
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