Now this question could go very philosophical as I don't really believe there are players who are flops, especially at the top level. There are simple players who are more prone to the occasional mistake, also there's the factor that it may depend on how you view the player's role vs how the coach set it up. But, that's a discussion for another time.

The full question, in this case, is: isn't it time for people to realize the difference between the players' transfer fee and the player's actual value? It's rather infuriating to see players like Darwin Núñez and Jack Grealish get so much stick, especially when that stick has nothing to do with anything they could control, their transfer free. After all,

Is The Transfer Fee The Player's Fault?

Let's take Darwin Núñez. Darwin Núñez was playing for Benfica in Portugal. He scored 34 goals and made 4 assists for the Portuguese side last season. This prompted all teams to have an auction which Liverpool eventually won for 80 million euros.

Anyone with half a brain knows the tempo in the Portuguese league is different than that in the Premier League and even with such great numbers, he's still a young player with limited experience. Of course, when you put him under the spotlight that is called the English media with such focus, he'd struggle. Who's surprised by this? Also, even if you take away all the psychological aspects, Liverpool and Benfica play different styles of football.

This leads me to two questions, should Núñez not develop his football or score so much for Benfica just because it would raise his transfer fee? More precisely, is Núñez wrong for playing so well during his time in Benfica? Why is he the target of this mockery?

The second question is, forget about Núñez for a second: if I tell you there's a player who scored 10 goals and made 3 assists in 24 matches this season in a top team that's been struggling to find its form, would you call him a flop?

Players have simply no say in much their transfer fee is. It happens as a result of elements that they cannot control. So, you could say that a player is bad, obviously. But, what you cannot say is that the player is a failure, not because of his performance or stats, but because of his transfer fee. If a player is doing well, then that's it. That's all he needs to do. There's no such a thing as "compared to his transfer fee" criticism to be directed at the player.

So, whose fault is it?

Players' Transfer Fees Must Match Their Value

This is such an obvious thing when it comes to buying anything. No one is going to buy a can of Cola if it cost 40 dollars. If Coka Cola decided to raise the price to 40 dollars, people would simply stop buying it. Not because they don't like Coka Cola, but because they don't value it at 40$. This reminds me of this classic scene from Pulp Fiction where John Travolta's character tries out a 5 dollars milkshake

He likes it, he finds it amazing, but he doesn't know whether it's worth 5 dollars. Also, here's a depressing shoutout to times when 5 dollars for a milkshake was considered too much.

Back to our topic, it's managers and clubs as a whole to blame for a player's price. If the manager or the club don't bring in players for a transfer fee that matches their values, then what's the point of having them? Especially when we talk about managers like Klopp and Pep Guardiola since they have a lot of power and control over the team's transfers.

A manager can't say, "I don't care how much he cost. It's not my business". No, it is your business actually as you aren't powerless. Would Klopp have been happy if Liverpool signed Andy Carroll? No. Would Pep accept having Theo Walcott as his left winger? No. I am not saying, they're full to blame, but they're definitely part of the process.

Clubs after all have buying powers that are limited unless you're Manchester City where it looks unlimited. You can't just waste money and spend it blindly unless you're Manchester City of course. A manager has to be more aware and active for his own sake as buying a player who isn't useful to the style would affect your power and influence when it comes to signings in the future as the club won't keep listening... unless, of course, you're Manchester City.

In Conclusion

I don't believe any player should be criticized based on his transfer fee. No player has ever said he won't move to a certain club unless they pay a certain amount in the transfer fee. Clubs have a responsibility not to make money pointless by overspending for players as it will affect them negatively in the future unless we're talking about Manchester City.