9 Most Ridiculous Panic Buys On Transfer Deadline Day

By Simon Gallagher / February 1, 2016

9. Afonso Alves - Middlesbrough

The Deal: From Heerenveen For £13m Somehow, Middlesbrough made themselves a reputation for signing supremely talented players, from the likes of Juninho (about 12 times) and Fabricio Ravinelli, to Gaizka Mendieta and Jonathan Woodgate. The last one aside, none of these players could ever possibly have picked up a Welcome To Boro brochure before signing their contracts. The club also had a habit of over-spending, and making bad decisions - like thinking Paul Merson was right for them - which led to the high-profile, hugely excessive signing of Brazilian "ace" Afonso Alves.

He came with high-billing, but it is an unfortunate truth that most strikers signed on transfer deadline day fail to live up to their fees, and he scored just 10 league goals in 42 games before he left for Al Sadd for an unthinkably high £7m in 2009.

The Warning Sign: He had scored a lot of goals, but they were in Holland, which is a surefire indication that he was never going to replicate the form in the Premier League.