Over the course of the Premier League era, there have been plenty of players who have promised greatness only to fail to deliver. A flash in the pan has not been uncommon in England's top flight, but who are the one-season wonders that have stood out the most? Football FanCast has taken a look.
5 Jesse Lingard (West Ham United, 2020/21)
Technically, this was only half a season, with Jesse Lingard thriving at West Ham after joining on loan from Manchester United in January 2021.
Having not made a single appearance in the Premier League at Old Trafford in the opening half of the campaign, Lingard was an instant hit with the Hammers, scoring nine goals and assisting five in just 16 top-flight games.
Deployed by David Moyes in a second-striker role, Lingard showed his quality as the link between West Ham's midfield and attack.
His success was arguably integral to the Hammers qualifying for the Europa League – a competition they reached the semi-finals of the following year.
With West Ham going on to taste European glory in the Conference League a year further on, it could perhaps be argued that Lingard was a catalyst for the success Moyes' men had as they returned from May's final in Prague with their first major trophy in over 40 years.
However, West Ham did not manage to sign Lingard in the off-season following his remarkable run, and the midfielder returned to being a bit-part player for United, making just two league starts in 2021/22.
Lingard moved to Nottingham Forest as a free agent ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, though he was unable to rekindle his form, failing to score at all in the Premier League, and he was released at the end of the season. His only consolation is now appearing on lists like these.
4 Michu (Swansea City, 2012/13)
Perhaps the ultimate one-season wonder in the Premier League era, Michu enjoyed an extraordinary campaign in his maiden season in the competition with Swansea City in 2012/13.
Signed from Rayo Vallecano for just £2m, the Spaniard took the Premier League by storm, scoring 18 goals in 35 appearances and adding a further four across the cup competitions.
Michu started as he meant to go on, scoring twice and providing an assist on his league debut in a 5-0 victory against Queens Park Rangers.
His goals also helped propel Swansea to the League Cup final, in which he scored in another 5-0 rout, this time of League Two Bradford City.
Other fine memories in his debut season included a superb match-winning double away at Arsenal, while his strike from outside of the box at Stamford Bridge set the Swans on their way to Wembley in their League Cup semi-final tie against Chelsea.
And at the tail end of the season, his impudent finish threatened to spoil Sir Alex Ferguson's leaving party at Old Trafford.
The striker had something of a knack for headed goals, with his aerial prowess accounting for six of his 22 in 2012/13.
His innate sense to be in the right place at the right time was also often on show, with the close-range, first-time finish an art he had perfected during his short time in south Wales.
Having signed a new, bumper contract in February 2013, Michu seemed destined to be a key player for the Swans for years to come, but he managed only six goals in the next campaign across all competitions, and he was loaned out to Napoli in 2014 before leaving Swansea City in November 2015, heading onto Spanish minnows Langreo.
3 Papiss Cisse (Newcastle United, 2011/12)
The season before Michu's exploits, Papiss Cisse arrived at Newcastle United in January 2012 and went on to score 13 goals in just 14 Premier League appearances for the Magpies.
Having netted nine times for Freiburg in the Bundesliga in the first half of the 2011/12 season, Cisse was already in fine form, but nobody quite expected him to settle into English football quite as quickly as he did.
Cisse took Newcastle's famous No 9 shirt and lived up to the billing with a stunning goal on his debut in a 2-1 win against Aston Villa. The goals did not stop flowing there, with Cisse scoring three successive league braces between March and April.
His final goals of the season came in a 2-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge – the second of which was an incredible, outside-of-the-boot strike from long range that curled remarkably into the corner and was later named as the BBC's Goal of the Season.
Such was the level of the Senegal striker's performances, Newcastle went into the last game of the campaign still in contention for a Champions League place, though they had to settle for an admirable Europa League spot – above eventual Champions League winners Chelsea – with the Magpies having finished 12th the season prior.
Cisse went into the next campaign as one of the most feared forwards in the Premier League, yet he could not keep up his form.
He did manage 11 goals in the 2014/15 season – an impressive tally from just 22 appearances – though he was never able to replicate the same level as he showed in his early days at St James' Park, and left Newcastle for Shandong Luneng in 2016.
2 Robinho (Manchester City, 2008/09)
Robinho's arrival at Manchester City on deadline day in August 2008 for a then-British record transfer fee of £32.5m signalled that City's new owners meant business.
For City, back then no more than a team with aspirations of qualifying for Europe, signing one of Real Madrid's prized assets was an extraordinary story, and Robinho repaid the money splashed out on him in his first season as he scored 15 times in all competitions to finish as the club's leading goalscorer.
In doing so, he made the City of Manchester Stadium his personal fortress. 12 of his 15 strikes came in Manchester, including his debut strike against Chelsea – the club he very nearly joined instead – from a free-kick.
A hat-trick against Stoke City was among the flurry of goals that followed, though none were perhaps as cheeky as the chip that left Arsenal's Manuel Almunia completely humiliated as they romped to a 3-0 victory.
The Brazil forward also provided nine assists and seemed set to go on and improve in his second season in England. However, Robinho failed to score at all in the league in 2009/10, and only managed to net once that campaign, with that goal coming in the FA Cup.
Robinho joined Santos on loan in 2010 before he was sold to Serie A giants Milan as City moved on from their first superstar transfer.
Things have turned out rather well for City since then, but who knows how Robinho's time in England may have been perceived had he followed up on his initial exploits at Eastlands.
Having helped the Rossoneri to a Scudetto in 2010/11, he was hardly over the hill as a player at the top level, so it may be a case of an opportunity missed with the Brazilian unable to find long-term consistency under Mark Hughes at City.
1 Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn Rovers, 2007/08)
Roque Santa Cruz only reached double figures for goals once in his club career in Europe, and that was during his first season at Blackburn Rovers back in 2007/08.
After signing from Bayern Munich, Santa Cruz scored 19 league goals in 37 appearances to help Blackburn finish seventh in the division, with only Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres and Emmanuel Adebayor scoring more top-flight goals that year.
It was not bad company for Santa Cruz to keep, but the Paraguay international could not keep up the momentum in the following season, netting just five times in all competitions following Mark Hughes' departure to Manchester City.
Nevertheless, he still got a big move in 2009, when Hughes' City came calling with an £18m offer. It is fair to say Santa Cruz's move did not work out, as he scored only three league goals in his first season at the club, starting only six top-flight games.
His first season haul had plenty of highlights. They included a hat-trick – albeit in a losing vein – against Wigan Athletic, with the first of those strikes a volleyed screamer past Latics goalkeeper Chris Kirkland.
He would help Rovers inflict revenge on Wigan in the reverse fixture with one of three braces he scored in the league – future employers Manchester City and whipping boys Derby County his other victims in a dazzling individual campaign.
He returned to Blackburn for an unsuccessful loan spell in 2011 before heading off to have a reasonable career in Spain with Real Betis and Malaga.
The goals flowed again on his return to Paraguay, but Santa Cruz could never return to the pinnacle he once found himself at during his time in Lancashire.
Given his short-lived yet evident prowess in front of goal, you can only consider his drop-off in form to mark a player with unfulfilled potential at the top level.
