Most expensive League One players: where are they now?

Everton have today confirmed the signing of Charlton and England U20 striker Ademola Lookman on a four-and-a-half-year contract. The deal is said to be worth in the region of £11m making the 19-year-old the most expensive League One player of all time. So who were the top five most expensive transfers before Lookman and how have they coped with the expectation?

When 19-year-old Leeds starlet Fabian Delph signed for Aston Villa in August 2009, he became the most expensive League One player by a considerable margin. Delph made 134 appearances for the club, captaining Villa in the 2014/15 FA Cup final which they lost 4-0 to Arsenal. On 10 July 2015, it was announced that Delph would be having a medical ahead of an £8m transfer to Man City. However, the former Leeds man never showed up and released a statement pledging his future to Aston Villa. He stated: “I am a loyal person and committing my future will hopefully show everybody what type of guy I am. I love the club. I love being here. This is my club”. A week later, Delph signed for Man City in a deal worth £8m. The midfielder has struggled with injuries throughout his time at the Etihad and has been linked with a move away from the club in January. Newcastle are said to be interested in the England international.

Following a short but impressive spell at Peterborough, the former non-league man joined newly-promoted Crystal Palace for a club-record £6m in July 2013. Gayle scored his first goal for the club against Sunderland, converting from the spot late on to give his side the three points. Towards the end of his debut season, Gayle scored two goals as Palace completed a spectacular comeback against Liverpool, coming from 3-0 down to draw 3-3, all but ending Liverpool’s title hopes. Gayle left Selhurst Park to join Newcastle in July 2016, having scored 25 goals in 74 appearances for the club. He is currently the Championship top goalscorer with 19 goals in 20 games this season, firing the Benitez revolution into the automatic promotion spots.

Then 21-year-old Britt Assombalonga attracted interest from Premier League clubs but opted for a move to Championship side Nottingham Forest. Having scored 23 goals in 43 League One games for the Posh, he has taken the step up with ease, scoring 22 goals in his first 44 Championship games for Forest. With the Midlands club currently underachieving, Assombalonga could be on his way to pastures new sooner rather than later.

Daylight robbery. Dele Alli was 18 when he signed for Tottenham in the 2015 January transfer window, in a deal which saw him loaned back to MK Dons for the remainder of the season. He eventually made his Spurs debut in August 2015 coming on as a substitute at Old Trafford. Alli scored five goals and created three in his first 18 Premier League games and was rewarded with a new long-term contract and a call up to the England squad for the final two Euro 2016 qualifiers. He was voted the PFA Young Player of the Year in his debut season and has gone on to become the quickest English midfielder to score 20 Premier League goals in history (52 games). Reports suggest Real Madrid could come calling…

The starlet made a name for himself in 2011/12 at Crewe becoming the first player to win all five awards at the club’s end of season awards ceremony. Man Utd swooped to sign him in July 2012 in a deal which could have risen to £6m depending on future appearances. Powell found it tough to break into the side and following loan spells at Wigan, Leicester and Hull, he was released by Man Utd at the start of the season and joined Wigan on a permanent deal in September.