West Ham United have notoriously blundered on the attacking front in the transfer market over the years. That's not to say that the Hammers have never got it right, but there's an undeniable sequence of misfires over the past decade or so.
Before David Moyes' second managerial appointment, the Hammers had neglected their potential for some time and struggled to break free of the shackles of midtable since returning from the second tier in 2012, finishing seventh in 2015/16 but ignominiously knocked out in the Europa League play-off round by Romanian side Astra Giurgiu the following Autumn.
Since 2019/20 – when Moyes took the helm with the club plagued by a relegation battle – West Ham have finished sixth and seventh in the Premier League before enduring a tougher term last year and finishing 14th – embroiled in the threat of the relegation battle before some more promising form in the closing months.
And while the spark was not at its brightest on the domestic front, United compensated for their woes with glory on the continental stage, winning the Europa Conference League.
The newfound success looks set to be sustained, with the signings made since the Scottish manager's arrival cementing this praisable stature and strength, capable of disrupting the established giants of the division.
That being said, there indeed have been some real howlers on the transfer front over the years.
Who are West Ham's worst signings?
West Ham have endured some forgettable movements transfer-wise over the past decade, with notable forwards to have failed to hit the mark including the likes of Simeone Zaza – who signed on a £5m loan deal that was not made permanent – and Jordan Hugill, who made just three appearances.
More recently, Moyes completed a £35.5m deal to sign exciting Italian forward Gianluca Scamacca in 2022 to continue the meteoric rise over the past few years.
Scamacca would score three times in the Conference League proper after netting twice in the qualifiers, important in the trophy-winning campaign, but was criticised for his "miserable" demeanour on English shores – as said by pundit Chris Sutton – and failed to impress in the Premier League, fleeing back to his homeland in the summer.
There are many, many more, but the recent exploits have seemingly turned a corner for the club, eradicating the regularity of failed moves, and ending blunders of the highest order for strikers such as Albian Ajeti, who might just be the bottom of the barrel across recent years.
How much did West Ham sign Albian Ajeti for?
West Ham completed the signing of Swiss international Ajeti for a reported fee of £8m in 2019, which was deemed prudent at the time for a player who, aged 22, had earned seven caps for his nation and had posted 43 goals from 96 outings for Basel.
It was in addition to the club-record £45m acquisition of Sebastien Haller from German side Eintracht Frankfurt, who joined with a weight of expectation but failed to deliver as promised, scoring just ten goals from 48 matches in the English top-flight.
Ajeti was supposed to be an apt understudy proficient enough to shine when called upon and offer the club value in rotation, but he only succeeded in languishing and barely made a mark before departing more than a little hot under the collar.
How did Albian Ajeti perform for West Ham?
Ajeti was signed at the start of the season that Moyes joined at the midpoint, and while he had recorded two goals and assists apiece in just a few outings for Basel before making the move to England, he would fall heavily by the wayside at the London Stadium.
Indeed, the 11-cap Switzerland ace only managed 12 appearances for West Ham across the entirety of the 2019/20 campaign and finished the term without a single goal to his name, since branded "lazy" by pundit Frank McAvennie.
Such scathing rebuke is probably justified given that he averaged just 0.3 shots and 3.3 touches per game across his nine outings in the Premier League, as per Sofascore, and while he only averaged 17 minutes per match, this is more than enough time to have demonstrated more robust qualities and movements on the pitch.
So bad was the Swiss striker that he even underperformed Ashley Fletcher, who arrived as a promising talent but only yielded one goal from 20 appearances before moving on.
Fletcher's time at the side was not the most prolific by any stretch of the imagination, but given that he was sold to Middlesbrough for £6.5m after joining from Manchester United on a free transfer, the club actually struck gold in moving him on for a lucrative fee.
Ajeti's signing epitomised the lacklustre recruitment that inhibited West Ham's aspirations of enjoying European journeys and lasting success away from the mire at the bottom of the league table.
The slightest tincture of positivity that can be taken from his forgettable spell in east London lies in the fact that the Irons were able to recoup £5m for his non-existent services, selling him to Scottish giants Celtic – then led by Neil Lennon – just one year after his arrival.
Ajeti took a significant pay cut from the £60k-per-week salary that he was on with West Ham, but if he had hopes of resurrecting his career with the Hoops, he was brutally mistaken.
Where is Albian Ajeti now?
After making 48 displays with the Hoops and scoring just nine goals, Ajeti – now 26-years-old – was signed by Turkish Super Lig outfit Gaziantep for a paltry £500k, which signifies a 94% decrease from the fee paid by West Ham just four years ago.
So poor was Ajeti at Celtic that McAvennie was even led to exclaim that it was "unbelievable" that he was earning a wage at Celtic Park at all.
In Turkey this season, Ajeti has so far only played two league matches and been utilised from the bench on both occasions, though he did manage to find the back of the net against Istanbulspor on his debut.
While he was never the most expensive of signings, Ajeti's signature really did illustrate the woes at West Ham before Moyes arrived and instilled confidence and security that has now blossomed into something to transcend anything the club could have imagined under the veteran manager's stewardship.