Transfer curse facing Alexander Isak with worrying trend among record deals

 With big money comes big expectations but all too often in the Premier League the most expensive players haven't delivered the ultimate prize. None of the top clubs spend record sums to get them to second or third spot.

But over recent years some of the most lucrative moves have failed to take their club's to the summit of English football. Liverpool made Florian Wirtz the British-record transfer when they landed him from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer.

Only weeks later and they smashed their own record with Alexander Isak joining from Newcastle for £125million. The pressure is now on for the Swede, who has been regarded as among the best strikers in the world, to ensure that Liverpool remain top of the pile.

History suggests, at least in recent years, that the most expensive signings don't often deliver the title. In fact, cast your eye down the 10 most expensive transfers to an English side and you'll find just TWO men with a Premier League winner's medal - but even they struggled to hit the heights expected.

They are Jack Grealish and Darwin Nunez. The ex-Aston Villa star boasts three titles to his name few would argue that he has justified his £100million fee since moving to Manchester City. Nunez left Liverpool in the summer, three years after his £85m switch from Benfica, which was more frustrating than successful.

Isak is hoping to be more success than frustration. He joined a team that had looked a well oiled machine last term, but less so in the early weeks of this campaign. Already Arne Slot is having to figure out how the get the best from the Swede with much debate over how to best use him and the host of quality names in Liverpool's heavily stocked attack.

Isak, but first Wirtz, exceeded the British-record transfer fee that had belonged to Enzo Fernandez. The Argentine moved from Benfica to Chelsea just months after becoming a World Cup winner. In Qatar he was named the best young player at the tournament - immediately attracting huge attention.

Fernandez moved to Stamford Bridge in the January of 2023 for a then record £105m. He, so far, only has a Europa Conference League and a Club World Cup to his name. Team-mate Moises Caicedo joined only months later for £100m.

At the time he penned a deal that had the potential to rise to £115m, which was a record fee. He has formed an impressive partnership with Fernandez in midfield but the two men have yet to make Chelsea title contenders.

One man who has proved a huge hit is Declan Rice. He headed to Arsenal after impressing for years at West Ham with the Gunners investing £100m, rising to £105m with add-ons. The England midfielder is now regarded among the best in the league in his position.

He's enjoyed some stunning moments for the north Londoners but is yet to land the title he and his team-mates crave. In his two years with Arsenal they've finished twice on both occasions, but do currently sit top of the pile at this early stage of the season.

Back in 2021 Chelsea, when Roman Abramovich was the man still signing off on major deals, spent a club-record fee of £97.5m to bring Romelu Lukaku back to the club from Inter Milan. He was seen as the striker who could take Thomas Tuchel's side to the title.

He scored on his debut and the early signs were ominous, but he soon tailed off, facing public criticism from his manager. The Belgian later departed for Napoli, where he's won another Serie A title, but the title in England certainly evaded him.

Paul Pogba briefly held the title of the world's most expensive player when he headed back to Manchester United. He was Jose Mourinho's marquee signing upon his appointment at Old Trafford in 2016. But the Frenchman and the Red Devils were the furthest thing from a match made in heaven.

He won two trophies in his first season in Manchester, but then went empty handed for the next five years before leaving for nothing. Antony's move in 2022 from Ajax is among the biggest failures in top flight history, but certainly a costly one. Needless to say he and United never came close to the Premier League title.