Carroll, Berbatov, Keane, Veron and the biggest transfer losses in football
The transfer rumour roundabout is upon us and word has it that Andy Carroll could be leaving Liverpool less than two years after joining the Anfield club for £35m, while Manchester United's out-of-favour striker Dimitar Berbatov might be on his way out of Old Trafford for a nominal fee, having signed for £30.75m in 2008.
With these potential financial farces setting the tone, talkSPORT recalls six of the worst transfer losses in football…
Shaun Wright-Phillips - Chelsea to Manchester City, lost £12.5m
The petite winger did a swapsies back to former club Man City in 2008 from Chelsea. In 2005 the Chelsea paid an epic £21million for Wright-Phillips from City, but then sold him back three seasons later for £8.5million, at a gut-wrenching £12.5million loss.
Robinho - Manchester City to AC Milan, lost £16.5m
Robinho's dramatic move to Manchester City came on the last day of the transfer window and on the same day that the club's very wealthy owners Abu Dhabi United Group bought the club in 2008. The whopping £32.5 million fee didn't seem all that bad during Robinho's successful first season, but the following season he disappointed and was sent out on loan to Brazilian side Santos. After the loan spell the striker refused to stay in Manchester and turned down a move to play in Turkey, then in August 2010 he finally got his favoured move to Italy after signing for AC Milan for £16 million, at a loss of £16.5 million for Man City.
Andriy Shevchenko - Chelsea to Dynamo Kyiv, lost £30.8m
The striker is well-known as one of the biggest transfer flops in the Premier League history – when Chelsea purchased Shevchenko from AC Milan for £30.8million in 2006 they broke the British transfer record. After two bit-part seasons Shevchenko was loaned to former side Milan, before being let go on a free to old side Dynamo Kyiv in 2009. Blues fans have their fingers crossed that Fernando Torres won't eventually follow the same path.
Hernan Crespo - Chelsea to Inter, lost £16.8m
The Argentine striker never really got to grips with life in England. After a mixed couple of seasons, including a brief loan spell with AC Milan, Chelsea ended up letting him leave on a free to Inter in 2008, having paid £16.8million for him from the Italian side in 2003.
Robbie Keane - Liverpool to Spurs, lost £7m
Tottenham seem to specialise in buying back former Spurs players, but the Robbie Keane transfer tops them all. Keane signed for Liverpool in 2008 for the huge sum of £19million, only to return to Spurs for £12million in the January 2009 transfer window. Liverpool suffered a loss of £7million in one half a season, with only five goals to show for it, despite being the most expensive player sold by the Anfield club at the time.
Juan Sebastian Veron - Manchester United to Chelsea, lost £13.1m
Manchester United signed the Argentinian defender from Lazio in 2001 for the vast amount of £28.1 million, but two seasons later Veron was struggling to keep up with the fast pace of the Premier League. United ended up losing £13.1million after selling him to rivals Chelsea for £15million in 2003, where he only played 14 times before being sent on loan and eventually signing on a free for Inter.