2014/15 has arguably been a year of relative success in the transfer department. The likes of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa have proved the difference for Chelsea in what has turned out to be a title winning campaign for the Blues this season, Alexis Sanchez has been a shining light for Arsenal since he first stepped foot inside the Emirates, and Southampton look completely revitalised with the many new faces down at St. Mary’s this term.
No Premier League season would feel complete without its fair share of transfer flops and disappointments, though, and as both Manchester United and Liverpool have experienced many throughout the course of the current campaign, not every new face has managed to have a positive impact for their side in 2014/15.
With that in mind, there are several high profile stars out there who could easily count themselves as the worst signing made this season. Some teams seemingly have more money than sense these days, yet because a whole manner of different factors need to be considered when analysing such a claim, there is one player who pretty much ticks all the unwanted categories in this discussion…
…Liverpool’s Dejan Lovren.
Obviously it would be wrong to attack the Croatian international on a personal level for all that’s gone wrong for him individually this season – for he most likely went about his day-to-day business in a positive manner and was more than willing to put in a shift for his team. However, when it comes to his performances out on the pitch and overall impact for Brendan Rodgers, things couldn’t have gone much worse for the 25-year-old defender.
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This transfer simply went wrong on so many levels. Lovren has seemingly failed to prove himself worthy of representing a club as high profile and demanding as Liverpool. He has looked far too slow on the turn to keep up with the Premier League’s quick-footed opposition, his positional sense has been all over the place so far this season – and as the no. 6’s concentration levels have just not been up to scratch consistently enough – the former Southampton man has subsequently made several key mistakes since plying his trade at Anfield.
At St. Mary’s the towering defender seemed a great deal more composed on the ball and confident in his approach. It looked as if Liverpool had found themselves a solid replacement for Daniel Agger when he first joined up with the Reds last summer, but this season’s circumstances have simply proved otherwise.
Perhaps with the fine form Southampton’s Jose Fonte has displayed this campaign, Lovren was made to look much better than he actually was at St. Mary’s thanks to his former defensive partner. Without the bonus of having someone equally solid to fall back on with the Reds, the ex-Lyon centre-back really hasn’t been able to shine himself in the most promising of lights.
In addition to Lovren’s own personal shortcomings so far this term however, the failure of this transfer is further highlighted by the fact that Liverpool paid way over the odds to secure their somewhat ill-fated man in the first place. £20million was just ridiculous, there are no two ways about it.
The Croatian had only experienced one full season in the Premier League. He seemingly failed to adjust to the tests of playing in frequent high pressure situations, and he simply looked somewhat out of place when representing his side in Europe this season.
Admittedly the 25-year-old has in-fact made some brief progress as this current campaign has slowly played out – yet for £20m Liverpool simply couldn’t have been thinking straight when they initially agreed the deal.
The Lovren transfer wasn’t the only mishap the Reds made in the transfer department as we all know though. Mario Balotelli could have equally gone down as the worst signing of the season for his measly one league goal recorded throughout 2014/15 – but for the sheer amount of goals conceded simply as a result of Dejan Lovren’s own mistakes and errors so far this term – the former Southampton man arguably just about edges it.
If Brendan Rodgers eventually sticks with his man at the back and continues to show faith in the 25-year-old throughout the up-coming season however, there is no reason to suggest that Dejan Lovren won’t put his problems this term behind him, and start looking to become the player all Liverpool fans were hoping their club had signed last summer.
You can simply never say never in the world of modern day football.
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