Darren Bent has named Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe as a Premier League transfer flop, alongside Manchester United captain, Harry Maguire.
The former striker suggested that Harry Maguire has perhaps been ‘the worst value for money signing in Premier League history’ even though he is ‘harsh’ on the Manchester United centre-back.
Those in the Old Trafford boardroom paid a then-world record fee for a defender when they forked out £80 million to Leicester City in 2019 (BBC Sport). There must have been something in the waters that summer because that’s when Arsenal’s club-record transfer, Nicolas Pepe, arrived from Lille for £72 million (BBC Sport).
The fact that Pepe is now is on-loan at Nice, whilst Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal sit at the top of the Premier League table, tells you everything you need to know about where the winger is at.
Whilst Maguire has been an error-prone defender, Pepe has found that a 21-year-old academy product in Bukayo Saka has outperformed him, scoring 12 league goals this season when there are games yet to play, whilst the Ivory Coast star just managed 16 league goals from his 80 matches.
Nonetheless, when discussing Premier League flops, Bent named the only two players, over the price of £70 million, that have worked, as he told talkSPORT.
“I think (Maguire) has to go and (leave Manchester United in the summer),” said Bent. “It’s not been great, has it?!
“I said in the meeting, and I thought I was being a little harsh here, about him being the worst value for money signing in Premier League history.
“But if you look at some of the other players that have gone for a lot of money. Transfers over £70 million don’t tend to work very well.
“Lukaku didn’t work. Sancho hasn’t worked yet. Kai Havertz – Pepe, £72 million, awful! Only Alisson and van Dijk have been the best two.”
BIG MONEY SIGNINGS
As Manchester United have found out over the years that spending hundreds and hundreds of millions gets you nowhere, other than, taking you backwards.
Whilst Arsenal have spent a fair bit under Arteta, they have mainly been a number of low-key signings and transfer fees around the £35 million mark.
In some cases, inflation in the transfer market and players being overhyped isn’t helping matters. But Arsenal have learnt their lesson from Pepe, but have Manchester United with Maguire?
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