Premier League summer transfer XI is HILARIOUSLY BAD

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 9 May 2023 09:41 BST
• 4 min read

A tweet from Sky Sports News sharing fans' summer transfer window XI has resurfaced and the result couldn't be further from the truth.

Roughly €900 million was spent by the 20 Premier League clubs during the 2022 summer transfer window, but there have been numerous expensive flops who have failed to hit the ground running this season.

Back in August, Sky Sports News asked viewers to pick their 'summer transfer XI' and revealed the chosen team on 5 August. It's worth bearing in mind that several high-profile transfers, such as Alexander Isak to Newcastle, had not yet happened, but it still doesn't look good on viewers of the show.

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Eight flops and three successes?

Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno was chosen as the man between the sticks following his transfer from Arsenal, and the German is one of very few successful transfers in the XI.

He has kept seven clean sheets in the league and has been a key reason why Fulham are well clear of the relegation zone.

READ: Man Utd wonderkid admits he may leave this summer

Newcastle defender Sven Botman is also included and the Dutchman has more than justified the €37m the Magpies paid Lille to acquire his services last year. The 23-year-old has been a stalwart alongside Fabian Schar at the heart of the Newcastle backline and is set to guide them back to the Champions League for the first time since 2002/03.

Christian Eriksen is arguably the final successful transfer in the selected XI. The Danish midfielder has been a consistent figure next to Casemiro at the base of Manchester United's midfield this season; for a free transfer, he's been superb.

However, the other eight players in the team have been flops this season.

Djed Spence played a total of just five Premier League minutes for Tottenham before he was shipped off to Stade Rennais on loan in January, while Ivan Perisic has also failed to meet expectations at Spurs.

Kalidou Koulibaly has been error-prone at Chelsea, while Yves Bissouma and Philippe Coutinho have barely played at Tottenham and Aston Villa respectively.

Raheem Sterling is Chelsea's second top goal-scorer in the Premier League this season, but he has failed to help the Blues reach the next level as was expected and could leave the club as soon as this summer.

Darwin Nunez has scored 15 goals in all competitions this season, but he cost Liverpool €80m and is no longer included in their first-choice starting XI, while Richarlison has played second fiddle to Harry Kane and has netted just one league goal.