3. Albert Luque (£9.5million)
Joe Giddens/EMPICS SportThe day that Albert Luque missed a game because of blisters is the perfect way to sum up his Newcastle career. Another Souness signing, former Spanish international Luque, much like countryman Marcelino - himself only saved from this list because of the more modest transfer fee paid for him - never showed the heart or effort to pull on the black and white shirt. His ability, most frustratingly, couldn't be doubted, having proved that in La Liga with Deportivo la Coruña in the years prior to the transfer, and at the time in the summer of 2005, in fact, the fee of £9.5million was thought to signify a good deal. One thing that can be said of Luque is that he has lasted longer in the memory of any other Newcastle United flop; his goal in the 4-1 Wear-Tyne derby victory, his only in a Newcastle shirt, has meant that his name is sang as part of a taunting chant to the tune of This Old Man at the expense of the Sunderland fans. However, like Viana and Boumsong before him, Luque's stay on Tyneside was short lived and he was moved on to Ajax in 2007 having made just 21 appearances in the league. Luque's recommendation that new signing Ayoze Perez move elsewhere rather than Newcastle because it is hard to settle in such a football mad area told you everything you need to know about him as a player and Newcastle United as a club.