Premier League Transfers: 15 Talented Imports Who Completely Flopped

4. Afonso Alves

Once upon a time the Eredivisie was a stepping stone for South Americans- most famously Brazilian strikers like Romario and Ronaldo, and for a brief period it appeared that Middlesbrough had unearthed another of these gems, in the form of Afonso Alves. Though questions were raised about the reliability of Eredivisie players, it was difficult to ignore Alves€™s phenomenal record with Heerneveen, where he had a fantastic goal scoring record, prior to his big money move to the Premier League. He actually looked like a steal for the North East side. He joined the club in January of 2008 and his first half season provided unspectacular but promising results - including a brace against Man United and a hat trick against Man City. Any hope that these performances provided was soon extinguished in the next season; Alves endured a miserable season and his return of four league goals helped condemn Boro to relegation. Not surprisingly the Brazilian didn€™t stick around for life in the Championship and left for Qatar at a fraction of the price the Middlesbrough had paid. Some might argue that Alfonso Alves was never truly talented in the first place, but I believe he showed what he was capable of against the Manchester clubs and he could have done more if he put the effort in.