Saul Niguez's dismal loan spell at Chelsea has now come to an end, but was he the worst Premier League signing of the 2021-22 campaign?
Much was expected of Saul after Chelsea snapped him up on a season-long loan from Atletico Madrid in September 2021, with the Spaniard having previously established himself among the elite midfielders in Europe during his nine years with Diego Simeone's side.
Saul was, however, unable to reach the same level at Stamford Bridge as he appeared in only 23 games in all competitions last term, including just 12 as a starter, and the Blues have decided against taking up their option to buy him outright for £30 million ($41m).
What has Saul said about his time at Chelsea?
The Atletico loanee also only managed to contribute one goal in a Chelsea shirt and, despite picking up a FIFA Club World Cup winners' medal, he admits to having endured a difficult campaign in England.
Saul reflected on his short time with the Blues in a farewell post to his followers on Instagram, which reads: "Hello Blues, I’m writing to take my leave of you. I would like to tell you how I felt during this adventure. Things didn’t start well at all. After a long time at home, changing everything wasn’t easy. Little by little things got better.
"Everything in life serves to improve and learn, and that’s what I take from this adventure. I’d like to thank the club for trying to take care of every detail to make me feel at home.
"I’d also like to give recognition to each worker, thank you. Thank you for making this club much bigger. Thanks to all the fans for supporting me through thick and thin. I will be forever grateful. Thanks to all the staff for making it possible for me to win titles with the blue shirt.
"But above all, I wanted to thank my teammates. They have been fundamental so that I wouldn’t fall apart. They helped me to continue supporting the team and live a calm and positive day to day. Thank you!"
Was Saul the worst Premier League signing of 2021-22?
A case can certainly be made for Saul being the biggest flop of last season, but there were several other contenders for that unwanted title - including his Chelsea team-mate Romelu Lukaku.
The Blues forked out a club-record fee of £98m ($123m) to bring Lukaku back to the club from Inter last summer, but he has since struggled to fit into Thomas Tuchel's system and has risked the wrath of supporters with his comments away from the pitch.
(C)Getty ImagesThe Belgian said he regretted leaving Inter in an explosive interview in December and, after finishing the season with just 15 goals to his name across all competitions, he is reportedly now pushing to return to San Siro on loan.
Manchester United also invested heavily in new players, bringing in Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho from Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund respectively for a combined £114m ($143m).
The former's debut season in England was blighted by injury, while the latter was unable to replicate the electrifying form in the final third that saw him emerge as one of the brightest talents of his generation at BVB.
Getty ImagesElsewhere, Manchester City's British record signing Jack Grealish arguably failed to live up to his £100m ($125m) price tag at the Etihad Stadium, albeit while picking up the first league title of his career, and Dele Alli struggled to impress at Everton after Frank Lampard brought him in from Tottenham in January.
Other contenders could include Arsenal left-back Nuno Tavares, who had to play second fiddle to first choice Kieran Tierney for much of the season, while Bryan Gil failed to make an impact at Spurs before being loaned out to Valencia.
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