10 Summer Football Transfers That Came Completely Out Of Nowhere

There's no questioning that Jonathan Woodgate was seen as a quality centre back during his spells at Leeds United and Newcastle United, but that still didn't make Real Madrid's decision to splash £13.4 million on the Englishman in August 2004 any less baffling.

Woodgate had a reputation for being injury prone and - sure enough - the defender was suffering from a thigh problem when he completed his unexpected move. This meant he wouldn't make his Madrid debut until the following year. And, oh, what a debut it was.

The brittle star went on to score an own goal and later got sent off in his first ever appearance in the famous white strip against Athletic Bilbao. However, a few months after this lacklustre start, it actually looked like Woodgate had finally established himself as a first team regular for Madrid. But injury once again forced him out of the side and he was eventually shipped to Middlesbrough on loan in August 2006, before officially moving to the club the following April.

What could have been a wonderful story of a player overcoming injury to lead one of the biggest clubs on the planet from the back, quickly turned into a nightmare for Woodgate and he was even voted the worst Madrid signing of the 21st century by fans on the Marca website.