According to The Sun, West Ham United have been told that they could have to pay more than £2.5m if they are to get rid of winger Gokhan Tore, who has proven to be a flop following his summer move from Besiktas.
The 24-year-old joined the Irons on a season-long loan deal for £2.5m, but after eight appearances in all competitions and no goals, the club want to end that deal less than halfway through the Premier League campaign.
The Turkey international is currently out with a thigh injury, and Besiktas say they will only let the attacker return to Istanbul if they don’t have to pay back any of the loan fee.
That got us thinking. With Tore proving to be something of a flop for the Hammers, which other players have failed to impress for the club during the Premier League era?
Here are four contenders…
Savio Nsereko
There would have been quite a bit of excitement between West Ham supporters when they signed this relatively unknown 19-year-old striker from Brescia for £9m during the 2009 January transfer window.
However, that excitement was short-lived as the Ugandan-born German forward only made one start for the Irons – failing to find the scoresheet – before he made a sharp exit back to Italy with Fiorentina.
Benni McCarthy
After scoring 37 Premier League times in 109 matches for Blackburn Rovers, West Ham fans would have expected goals when they signed McCarthy for an undisclosed fee on February 1, 2010.
But it wasn’t to be a fairytale move for the supporters, or the South African striker himself.
He picked up an injury on his debut that kept him on the sidelines for six weeks, and when he returned he was ridiculed for being fat, and only went on to make a further 12 appearances for the club, failing to get on the scoresheet.
Kieron Dyer
One of those players that never fulfilled his potential because of injury, Dyer joined West Ham from Newcastle United for £6m in August 2007.
But as most of his career was, the winger’s time with the Irons was blighted with injury, and in his four years with the club, he made just 30 appearances in total, without scoring a goal.
Following the frustrating spell with the Hammers, he was released at the end of 2010/11 campaign.
Marco Boogers
This is one that some of our younger readers might not remember!
Harry Redknapp signed the Dutchman for £1m from Sparta Rotterdam in 1995, even though he had never seen him play.
It was a decision that would come back to bite him on the backside as the attacker was sent off after coming on as a substitute in only his second appearance for the Irons.
He only played twice more before being shipped back to the Netherlands with RKC Waalwijk.