10 Premier League Record Signings Who Were A Waste Of Money

5. Craig Gordon

When Sunderland signed relatively unknown Craig Gordon for £9M in 2007, it was the highest fee a British club had ever paid for a goalkeeper. The high transfer fee caused shock among football fans, who were mostly unaware of the player's talent while at his previous club Hearts. In truth, Gordon had been under the watchful eye of several Premier League clubs including Arsenal, Manchester United and Aston Villa. At £9M big things were expected from the Scotsman, but an unfortunate series of injuries seriously dented his progress and despite spending 5 years at the club only managed to make 88 appearances before being released. In that time the Scotland international suffered from a knee injury in his second season, two broken arms and suffered a reoccurrence of the knee injury, forcing him out for a further 8 months. Once hailed 'untouchable' by Roy Keane, Craig Gordon's fall from grace looked like it would reach the ultimate end when he was released in 2012. Still suffering from injuries, Gordon did not sign with another club for two years, taking a break from playing professionally to heal up before returning to play with Scottish champions Celtic in July 2014.