With Arthur Melo set to return to Juventus after just 13 minutes of action for Liverpool, Daily Star Sport ranks the top 10 worst loan signings in Premier League history
Arthur Melo will leave Liverpool after playing just 13 minutes (Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Arthur Melo’s temporary switch to Anfield is likely to go down as one of the worst loan deals of all time after the midfielder confirmed he will return to Juventus at the end of the season.
The Brazilian ace, 26, arrived on the final day of the summer transfer window as a last-minute solution to aid Liverpool’s midfield woes, with Thiago, Curtis Jones, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita all sidelined for various traumas.
Despite the ever-increasing number in the Melwood rehabilitation room, Melo is yet to make a single Premier League appearance for Jurgen Klopp’s side, with his sole senior showing a 13-minute Champions League cameo, in a 4-1 away defeat at Napoli.
“Hopefully I have an option to say goodbye in Liverpool by playing something, to say goodbye to my team-mates, the technical committee and the fans, who have been very good to me,” Arthur told Goal, all but confirming that Liverpool have passed up the £32.5m option-to-buy clause in his contract.
But Melo isn’t the only disastrous Premier League loan signing as Daily Star Sport ranks the top 10…
Jurgen Klopp urges Liverpool to ‘keep going’ as he seeks to accentuate the positives
10. Renato Sanches
Despite lighting up the European Championships as part of Portugal’s 2016-winning team, the highly-rated prodigy endured a torrid spell in the Premier League, on the banks of the river Tawe.
Renato Sanches had a torrid spell at Swansea (Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
Sanches joined Swansea City on the back of a heavily impressive end to the previous season. Paul Clement’s side won four of their last five and were only held by Manchester United at Old Trafford, while Sanches was in need of regular first-team football after a steady first campaign at Bayern Munich.
Yet what followed was an undoubted nightmare. Sanches made just 15 appearances in all competitions, failing to score a single goal, and the Welsh outfit were relegated with a whimper.
“When I went to Swansea, the intention was to get more minutes so I would be called for the World Cup,” said Sanches, later reflecting on his failed loan. “But physically I was not fine, because I noticed how I am now, compared to six months ago, or a year ago, at Swansea.
“I feel the difference completely. I was running and would think of my leg, ‘I cannot tear it again’. I was scared. I think things happen for a reason, so we can learn.
“I think there are certain things we do not know how to respond to and that we do not know how to say why they happened.”
9. Alexandre Pato
Alexandre Pato scored just one goal for Chelsea (Image: AFP/Getty Images)
50 goals in four years at AC Milan catapulted the Brazilian ace into the conversation for the world’s most prestigious forward. But his final two years at the San Siro were littered with injuries, earning him the Bidone d’oro for the 2012/12 campaign – a satirical prize, awarded to the worst Serie A player during a particular season – which roughly translates as ‘golden bin’.
Heading back to Brazil, Pato regained his form with Corinthians and Sao Paulo before turning to Chelsea, where he was challenged by boss Gus Hiddink to earn himself a permanent deal.
Joining on a six-month loan spell, a lack of fitness prevented the forward from making his debut until four months later. He made just two appearances for the Blues, scoring once, with the west Londoners passing up the option of a permanent transfer.
8. Roque Junior
Roque Junior went from a Champions League final to shipping 25 goals in seven matches (Image: Getty Images)
Leeds United thought they had pulled off the loan deal of the century when World Cup winner Junior rocked up at Elland Road. But just seven Premier League appearances later, in which time they conceded 25 goals, the Yorkshire outfit were left feeling they’d received a dud by mistake.
Starting with a 4-0 defeat to Leicester City, the Brazilian was sent for an early bath after conceding a penalty in a 2-0 loss against Birmingham City and his final appearances came via a 6-1 defeat to Portsmouth.
“It didn’t go as I expected on the pitch, because I needed time to adapt,” the Champions League runner-up told the Guardian in 2021. “Leeds had a great structure then, but they were going through a hard time financially and ended up being relegated and spending a long time away from the Premier League.
“With time I would have adapted to the Premier League, but it was a great experience for me. I view the opportunity to have played in England as a positive one.”
7. Jese
Jese has since been involved in a off-field sex scandal (Image: Getty Images)
Stoke City became the destination for several high-profile stars as Mark Hughes aimed for an unlikely European adventure, with Bojan, Ibrahim Affley and Xherdan Shaqiri enjoying stints at the Bet 365 Stadium.
And it was earmarked as a huge coup when Jese joined on loan from PSG, scoring on his debut in a 1-0 win over Arsenal. Despite the hype, the winger made just 13 appearances before a fallout with Mark Hughes saw him spend the majority of the season outside the matchday squad.
6. Simone Zaza
Simone Zaza cost West Ham £5m for zero goals (Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
Costing West Ham a £5m loan fee, Simone Zaza is fondly remembered for his disastrous penalty at Euro 2016 and, unfortunately for Slaven Bilic’s men, his time in east London ended in similar circumstances.
The Italian scored zero goals in 11 appearances across his loan stint and it’s safe to say the Hammers quickly found a way to swerve their £20m obligation to buy, which came into effect after a certain number of showings. Bilic simply refused to play him from November onwards and the forward was shipped back to Juventus in January.
Speaking on his time at the London Stadium, he told the Sun: “Everything started badly from the outset, I think the main blame lies with me because I was not right mentally, I was very negative and in all the things that happened I never saw the positive side.
“There was an atmosphere, a culture very different to mine. That was a problem. Now I’m here I feel bad not to have shown in England what I’m capable of.”
5. Ricky Alvarez
Sunderland had to fork out close to £20m for Ricky Alvarez (Image: Sunderland AFC via Getty Images)
Enduring an injury-plagued campaign on Wearside, Alvarez bettered Zaza’s goal return with a solitary strike across his 11 outings. Yet, unlike the West Ham flop, Alvarez ended up costing Sunderland close to £20m.
After five years of legal disputes, the northeast side were ordered to pay the astronomical sum due to an oversight in his loan agreement, Sunderland believing his hampered season negated the obligation to purchase.
Inter disagreed, and eventually the Black Cats were forced into coughing up the transfer fee and a loss of earnings, Alvarez having been left out of both squads until his fate was decided by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
4. Steven Caulker
Steven Caulker made three sub appearances for Liverpool (Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
The one-cap, one-goal England international was brought to Anfield to provide cover for Liverpool’s injury-hit backline.
However, Jurgen Klopp saw something no one else had throughout the defender’s career, opting to use Caulker as an auxiliary striker in three fleeting Premier League appearances.
While the Reds struggled to cope defensively, Caulker was having the time of his life throwing himself around aimlessly up front, somehow setting up Adam Lallana’s 95th-minute winner against Norwich City. Needless to say, the loan move was not made permanent.
3. Denis Suarez
Eventually a Suarez made the move to the Emirates (Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
£40m and a quid was not enough to see Luis Suarez make the move from Liverpool to Arsenal, but no transfer fee was required to convince Denis to make his “dream move” to the Emirates in 2019.
The Spaniard, who claimed he had rejected other offers from elsewhere to join the Gunners, linked up for a fourth-month spell under the rein of Unai Emery, managing six appearances due to a host of injuries.
He later revealed he was only playing at 30 per cent of his full fitness. “I played in my first game against Manchester City and then 10 days later I got injured against Bate Boris in the Europa League,” he told the Mirror.
“I had too much pain in my groin. I did tests and scans and nothing was in my groin, but there was a big edema (build-up of fluid) around the pubic bone. I had sharp pain when I ran, when I shot, when I passed. It was so difficult. I was at something like 30 per cent of my fitness.”
2. Kim Kallstrom
Kim Kallstrom’s loan spell has gone down in Arsenal folklore (Image: Corbis via Getty Images)
Midfielder Kallstrom signed on loan from Spartak Moscow on deadline day in January 2014 but was made to wait until March for his debut due to a back injury.
The Swede went on to make just four appearances for the Gunners, gaining status from fans online as the club’s worst-ever signing.
He said: “Lots of people think they know about this injury but let me explain it properly. We were training on the beach – this is so embarrassing – and it was a proper training session too, not just one for fun. I say it was a beach, it was more like concrete. Anyway, we had a game there and I fell badly on a small rock.
“I hit my back and had some pain. Obviously, we were due to go back to Moscow the day after so we didn’t do any medical check-up there because it wasn’t too bad at the time. We informed Arsenal straight away that I had a problem with my back and that I had no idea what it was, so they just told me to come along anyway.
1. Arthur Melo
Liverpool have passed up the £32.5m option-to-buy in Melo’s contract (Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
13 minutes. None of them in the Premier League. What was the point?
