Top 10 Premier League transfer underpays of all time includes three summer 2023 moves

With Tottenham underpaying for James Maddison because of his contract situation, we look at the Premier League transfers that came in way under ‘value’.

This is not about judging the players’ performances, but how much their transfer fee came under their value at the time, as decreed by transfermarkt. We have ruled out free transfers as that’s a different list.

The players that generated a fee far higher than their supposed ‘value’ are here…

10) Dejan Kulusevski (Juventus to Tottenham, 2023)
Fee: £25.6m
Transfermarkt valuation at the time: £43.3m

Spurs have already paid a sizeable loan fee for the Swede but they can still claim to have bagged a bargain for a player who notched eight Premier League assists in his first 18 games. Last season was less impressive but he clearly struggled after being sidelined by a thigh injury in October. A fit and firing Kulusevski is clearly worth more than £25m. Especially at the tender age of 23.

9) Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig to Chelsea, 2023)
Fee: £52m
Transfermarkt valuation at the time: £69.24m

A release clause has helped Chelsea land what could be a potential bargain. The Frenchman – who can play as a conventional striker, off the left wing or as a No.10 (his favourite role) – has scored 36 in 59 Bundesliga games over the last two seasons. Injury has kept him out of the start of the season.

8) Jorginho (Chelsea to Arsenal, 2023)
Fee: £12m
Transfermarkt valuation at the time: £30.28m

Parachuted in during January when it looked like Arsenal’s lack of squad depth (it was) would be an issue in the title run-in, Jorginho brought experience and Champions League-winning knowhow, escaping the sh*tshow at Stamford Bridge for an exciting project at the Emirates. “To be honest, I was surprised but really happy by how welcome I was, how (Arsenal) treated me when I came in,” he said recently, while denying that he is looking for a route back to Italy.

7) Alex Telles (Porto to Manchester United, 2020)
Fee: £13.6m
Transfermarkt valuation at the time: £34.6m

The Portuguese full-back’s release clause was over £36m so this looked like a veritable bargain for a player expected to challenge Luke Shaw for the left-back position. Porto sold for £13.6m rather than lose him for nothing the following summer and United were delighted; they had been tracking Telles since 2014.

In two seasons he played 30 Premier League games before being shipped off to Sevilla on loan; United have now sold him to Al Nassr for a few peanuts.

6) Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton to Liverpool, 2023)
Fee: £35m
Transfermarkt valuation at the time: £56.22m

It looks like a phenomenal bargain on paper. Mac Allister signed a new Brighton deal last year but, in order to avoid losing the World Cup winner on a damaging free transfer, the Seagulls agreed to a release clause. Liverpool were able to get the deal done for the Argentine early and cheaply. The geniuses.

5) Thiago (Bayern Munich to Liverpool, 2020)
Fee: £20m
Transfermarkt valuation at the time: £41.45m

There was mass masturbation over the signing of Treble winner Thiago with Liverpool laptop guru Michael Edwards hailed as a genius for pulling off the signing of the 29-year-old just a year from the end of his contract. Weeks later, there was a collective climax as he broke a record that nobody knew existed.

Three years later, Liverpool would probably quite like a Saudi Arabian club to offer them a few quid for the Spaniard after too few moments of brilliance in three years which have seen him play just 67 Premier League games.

4) Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus to Manchester United, 2021)
Fee: £12.9m
Transfermarkt valuation at the time: £39m

For the full sorry tale, read about how Manchester City sidestepped a nightmare that Manchester United embraced.

But my word, were they giddy with themselves at the time.

3) Raphael Varane (Real Madrid to Manchester United, 2021)
Fee: £34m
Transfermarkt valuation at the time: £60.4m

With just a year left on his contract, the World Cup winner was available for a cut-price fee, which would look even more of a bargain if he had been fit to play more than 46 Premier League games in two seasons. And he’s already injured again just weeks into 2022/23.

2) Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal to Manchester United, 2018)
Fee: £30m
Transfermarkt valuation at the time: £60.4m

No actual money changed hands because Sanchez was valued at the same price as Henrikh Mkhitaryan, variously reported anywhere between £25m and £35m. Sanchez was the far, far better player but he had refused to sign a new Arsenal contract and had played more than a little sulkily since being denied a move in the summer of 2017.

Despite earning a reported £500,000 a week, Sanchez instantly regretted the move, saying later: “The first training I had I realised many things. I came home and I told my representative: ‘Can’t the contract be terminated to return to Arsenal?’ They started laughing.”

He scored just five goals in 45 games for Manchester United, who eventually had to pay him to leave on a free transfer to Inter Milan in 2020. It literally could not have gone much worse.

1) Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City, 2022)
Fee: £51m
Transfermarkt valuation at the time: £129.3m

Yes, there are massive wages. Yes, there are agents fees. Yes, there were signing-on bonuses. But the actual fee for Haaland – as decreed by his release clause – was laughably low. And even the transfermarkt valuation – now over £150m – looks quaint after his first remarkable season for Manchester City.