10 Worst Ever Premier League Panic Buys
7. Afonso Alves - Middlesbrough
Afonso Alves arrived at the Riverside in January 2008 with the reputation of being a prolific goalscorer. The £13 million-man was a striker in form in Holland, scoring 45 goals in just 39 games for Heerenveen - a record Cristiano Ronaldo would be proud of.
However, the player Gareth Southgate had pinned his hopes on being his struggling Middlesbrough side's saviour could not adapt to life in the Premier League. The Brazilian forward failed to find the net for his new team until April in his maiden season and only scored four times the following year - a season in which his club were relegated to the Championship.
With a poor return of only 10 goals in 41 games on Teesside, Alves was sent packing to Qatar with his reputation in tatters.