After news of Andy Carroll's new injury surfaced, West Ham chairman David Sullivan said that the club would not have signed the crocked number 9 had they known he would be injured, well, all the time.
West Ham aren't the only club to regret a signing, however, and here are six Premier League flops who their managers almost certainly regret recruiting:
6. Francis Jeffers
Brought to Arsenal in 2001 by Arsene Wenger, Francis Jeffers kicks off this list of signings who just didn't work out. He cost the Gunners £8million, a decent amount of money, even more so 13 years ago, but never lived up to what was expected of him. Prior to signing, fans referred to him as the 'Fox in the box', but unfortunately, the only way he could have been compared to a fox is if said creature were roadkill.
He managed four goals in 22 appearances and was loaned back to his former club, Everton, before moving to Charlton. The last time we saw him kicking a ball was last year, for Accrington Stanley. He joins a long list of English players who have failed to cut it under Arsene Wenger.
5. Bebe
The signing of Bebe back in 2010 was like something you see in a fairytale. He was brought up in an orphanage before becoming a footballer in his native Portugal, where Sir Alex Ferguson signed him from for £7.4million.
The only problem was Fergie had never seen young Bebe play. The transfer was recommended by former assistant Carlos Queiroz and Sir Alex only met Bebe the day before he signed. He made seven appearances for Manchester United before being sent out on loan to Besiktas. Upon leaving Manchester, Bebe said, 'I never took Manchester United seriously and never understood a word about what Alex Ferguson was saying.'
The Portuguese flop only left United on 25th July 2014, signing for Benfica. After watching Bebe for the Red Devils, perhaps it would be good for him if future managers copied Sir Alex and didn't watch him.
4. Fernando Torres
When Chelsea signed Fernando Torres in 2011, they thought that they had just captured one of the league's best strikers. He had shone at Liverpool, but was on a bad run of form when he was snapped up, having only scored nine goals in 26 games. He failed to score for the Blues in his first 900 minutes of football, making his £50million price tag painful to look at.
He has continued to flop, missing a number of open goals and one-on-ones, scoring only five times last season, less than former team-mate and centre back Martin Skrtel. His Chelsea career looks to be over, but it remains to be seen where he will go next. Atletico Madrid were reportedly interested in re-signing him, but when Jose Mourinho's side asked for around £13million, Madrid backed away.
Unfortunately, Fernando Torres will always be remembered for his dreadful spell in West London.
3. Adrian Mutu
Romanian forward Adrian Mutu joined Chelsea in 2003 for £15.8million. He made a great start for the Blues, scoring four goals in three games, but quickly fell out with Mourinho.
It was reported that the two argued over whether Mutu was injured for a World Cup qualifying match, beginning what was an awful career at Chelsea. He was released from the club in October of 2004 after failing a drugs test for cocaine. He received a seven-month ban and a £20,000 fine from the FA and has always been remembered for this ordeal. Mutu has gone on to play for a number of clubs, including Juventus and Fiorentina, where he has been a fairly prolific player. However, he sits comfortably in the history books as one of Chelsea's worst signings ever.
2. Andy Carroll
Andy Carroll narrowly missed out on the top spot of this list, because he hasn't been a poor signing just once, but twice!
When Liverpool received £50million for Fernando Torres they were able to buy almost anyone to partner Luis Suarez. However, as the transfer window deadline was fast approaching, they panicked and bought Carroll for £35million. He had scored 11 goals in his last 19 games for Newcastle before the switch, so all seemed well.
However, he arrived already injured and despite goals against Manchester City early on in his Reds career, he clearly did not fit their system, especially when Brendan Rodgers took the helm. He was soon loaned out to West Ham, where he then completed a permanent move the following season. Since arriving at Upton Park, however, Carroll has played a very small number of games due to injury and after picking up another ankle problem during their pre-season tour of New Zealand this summer he is set to miss another four months.
The Hammers put all their eggs in one basket with Carroll and although on his day he is virtually unplayable, he has never played for long enough to find form. Another Dean Ashton situation? It remains to be seen.
1. Ali Dia
Ali Dia tops this list, but is very different to the other players, simply because he wasn't actually a player. Dia joined Southampton in 1996 after then manager Graeme Souness was called by a man who claimed to be former World Player of the Year George Weah, but was really Dia's friend from university. Souness was told that his cousin, Ali Dia, was a Senegalese international who had played for Paris Saint Germain and that he should be given a trial.
Dia joined on a one month contract and featured for a whole 21 minutes before it became abundantly clear that he wasn't a professional footballer at all. His team-mates said that he had no idea what he was doing and Matt Le Tissier has said that "he ran around the pitch like Bambi on ice". Dia was released after two weeks and will always be remembered as one of the most embarrassing signings in the history of the beautiful game.
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