£8m Swansea City signing promised so much but delivered so little | OneFootball

Swansea City signed Alberto Paloschi in January 2016 but his time at the club was a forgettable one

Making big signings in the January transfer window is always risky business, and Swansea City found that out the hard way nine years ago this month.

The Swans had enjoyed a successful couple of seasons in the Premier League after winning promotion in 2011, but the 2015/16 season was the first campaign where things weren't going to plan and there looked to be a genuine risk of relegation.

Garry Monk was sacked as manager in December 2015 and replaced by veteran Italian manager Francisco Guidolin the following month, and he turned to his homeland to bolster Swansea's squad.

With Bafetimbi Gomis struggling for goals, the Swans were in need of a striker and Guidolin signed Italian Alberto Paloschi, a player he knew well thanks to their time at Parma, as the man tasked with coming up with the goals to keep the club in the top-flight.

Alberto Paloschi's signing promised so much, but it didn't last

Swansea forked out a fee of £8million to sign Paloschi from Cheivo, a considerable fee at the time, and he penned a three-and-half year deal in south Wales which was set to keep him at the club until the summer of 2019.

In fairness to Swansea, it looked a decent deal after he'd scored nine times in 21 Serie A appearances during the first half of the season, but that wasn't able to translate to the English game.

Paloschi played ten Premier League games during the second half of the season, starting seven of them and, while he scored twice in away games against Tottenham and Stoke City, the prolific form he'd displayed in Italy earlier that season was nowhere to be seen.

He missed the final three games of the season thanks to an injury, and supporters would never see the Italian in action again as he sealed a move back to his homeland in June 2016.

Less than six months after penning a three-and-half year deal with the club, Paloschi departed for Atalanta, a strange move all round, especially when you consider that Guidolin was still in charge at Swansea.

Two goals in seven Premier League starts for a struggling side isn't an awful return by any stretch of the imagination, and while Swansea fans hoped that he'd kick on during the 2016/17 season, it wasn't to be.

Swansea recouped £6million, £2million less than what they paid for him in the January, so while it wasn't a disastrous deal, Paloschi certainly failed to live up to the lofty expectations he brought with him.

Things didn't improve for Alberto Paloschi after his Atalanta move

Paloschi didn't make the desired impact at Atalanta, and he played just 14 games, failing to find the back of the net before being loaned to SPAL for the 2017/18 season.

Seven Serie A goals on loan at SPAL was enough to convince them to sign Paloschi on a permanent basis, and he remained at the club until 2021, scoring just 11 goals in three seasons.

Since leaving SPAL, Paloschi has played his football in the lower leagues of Italian football, and now, at the age of 35, he's playing for Serie D side Pro Palazzolo after completing a move from Calcio Desenzano earlier this month.

He's scored four goals in ten Serie D appearances this season, including one for his new side against his former side, Calcio Desenzano, in just his third appearance.

While Paloschi is still scoring goals at Serie D level, it's fair to say that he never lived up to his full potential, and Swansea's decision to hand him such a long deal in January 2016 proved a poor call.