A West Brom write off was also involved in the opening goal for Serie A side Fiorentina against Genoa this weekend.
At HITC we do like to keep on the look-out for the performances of some of the Premier League’s most recent flops and you can almost guarantee that once a fortnight one or two of them will have a significant impact on proceedings somewhere on the continent.
But when FOUR players all combine in one match with this unwanted Premier League reputation then it really catches the eye.
But that is exactly what happened when Fiorentina opened the scoring against Genoa this weekend.
Watch this…
That’s right the over-hit cross comes in from former West Brom player Borja Valero which is gathered by Manchester City’s defensive weakness last term Stefan Savic. He plays a delightful through ball into the path of the one-time Manchester United option Adem Ljajic who makes an excellent by-line run before cutting back for a certain Alberto Aquillani to find the back of an empty net.
Borja has recently been liked with Real Madrid but was also a West Brom player. Relegation followed and Borja rebuilt his career with excellent stints at Villarreal and Mallorca before moving to Florence.
Savic was used as a bargaining tool in the purchase of Matija Nastasic and after an eventful and mistake-laden campaign last term no City fan would have been sad to see the back of him. However he has become an ever-present in the back-three at the Artemio Franchi.
As for Ljajic, he joined United along with team-mate Zoran Tosic from Partizan Belgrade in 2009. The proposal would have seen Ljajic staying in Serbia until 2010 before arriving at Old Trafford. However problems with his work permit saw United scrap the deal and Fiorentina swooped in and took him on board instead. Three impressive years later it is a decision they have not regretted.
As for Aquillani he was potentially the biggest flop of all. Signed as Xabi Alonso’s replacement he was injured on arrival and never truly adapted to English life. At Fiorentina he is finding his form once again and is even pushing for an international recall.
All in all this combined total of £32 million worth of Premier League talent never made the grade over here but with Fiorentina fourth in the Serie A table after their 3-2 win over Genoa we may yet get to see them in the Champions League next term.
image: © carca
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