Tottenham Hotspur have made more than their fair share of poor transfers over the last decade or so.
For example, before he was fired, Mauricio Pochettino spent a considerable sum of money on Tanguy Ndombele, Antonio Conte was guilty of spending £60m on Richarlison, Nuno Espírito Santo signed Bryan Gil and Emerson Royal, and even the great José Mourinho was guilty of a few howlers.
In fact, one of the special one's worst signings wasn't just signed for a considerable fee but was also handed a hefty wage that saw him earn more than Brennan Johnson and Micky van de Ven earn today.
Johnson and Van de Ven's salaries in 2024
On deadline day last summer, Spurs agreed to pay Nottingham Forest around £47.5m for Johnson, and while there have been some poor performances from the Welshman, it would be fair to say he's currently more than justifying his fee and £70k-per-week wage.
For example, he ended his debut campaign with a respectable haul of five goals and ten assists in just 34 appearances, and while he started this season in underwhelming form, he has quickly racked up a tally of six goals in just 13 games, which also makes him the club's top goalscorer.
Likewise, while Van de Ven wasn't necessarily a household name when he completed his £43m move to the Lilywhites last summer, he has more than justified his fee and surprisingly low salary of £50k-per-week.
In his first season, the 6 foot 4 Dutchman almost immediately became one of the club's most important players, as his lightning-quick recovery pace and ability to get back and clean up breakaways allowed the team to play a higher line than most.
For example, in the North Londoners' home game against Brentford last season, the 23-year-old broke the Premier League's record for the fastest sprint ever recorded, clocking in at a staggering 37.38km/h - talk about rapid.
Overall, both Van de Ven and Johnson are more than justifying their wages at the moment, which cannot be said for one of Mourinho's worst signings at Spurs.
How much Steven Bergwijn cost Spurs
Yes, the player in question is former Dutch international Steven Bergwijn, who Jose spent £27m on in January 2020.
The rapid winger looked like he'd be a good signing at the time, as in just 149 appearances for PSV Eindhoven, he had scored 31 goals and provided 41 assists, equating to an impressive average of a goal involvement every 2.06 games.
However, that form, unfortunately, did not translate into his time in England, and across the two and a half years he spent with the Lilywhites before being sold to Ajax, he could only produce eight goals and nine assists in 83 appearances, which equates to a goal involvement every 4.88 games.
Worse yet, despite struggling to make an impact, the Amsterdam-born attacker was handed a hefty salary of £75k-per-week - more than Johnson and Van de Ven - meaning that, including his transfer fee, the 27-year-old cost the North Londoners around £36.4m.
In other words, he cost the club around £439k-per-appearance, £4.5m-per-goal, £4m-per-assist, and around £2.1m-per-goal-involvement, which can hardly be described as value for money.
Ultimately, Spurs have had their fair share of flop signings over the years, and while he certainly wasn't the worst, the fact that Bergwijn was paid more than Johnson and Van de Ven will always be an odd one.