We like to applaud brilliance, yes. Perhaps Peter Crouch’s sublime strike from range against Manchester City this term or that unmistakable Wayne Rooney overhead kick against Manchester City (again!) last time round provide some of the league’s great hits. But with football being more over clichéd, sensationalised and hyped up more than ever before, we have all grown a tendency to award hero-like status so much more readily. Nowadays, it only takes a little run of form, for our jaws to drop, as we carelessly clap our hands together and blindly utter that this footballer could be the ‘next big thing’.

Of course expectation can be very dangerous, with a few great displays followed by some of the mediocre variety representing an inconsistent performer. Perhaps the following 15 pros suffered from their constant hyperactive high billing as they embarked on a career in England’s top flight. With flashes of genius only evident in spells, these players may look back on their Premier League career and admit that they were perhaps ‘overhyped’. So as we cast our eyes back across the 20 years of the Premier League in its current format, let us embark on the top 15 overhyped footballers in that period.

Click on Adel Taraabt below to unveil the top 15

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