Now that the frenzy of the transfer market has concluded, there will be several new faces making their club debuts across Europe's domestic leagues. From a team perspective, the moves made in this particular transfer window reflect the need for depth, particularly among those established European teams competing for both domestic and European titles on an annual basis.
From an individual perspective, this need for depth means players must be careful when venturing away from their club, as the grass may not always be greener in a new environment. This is especially true as players look to move from a mid-level club to a title contender. These negative moves can stall a player's career and in some cases dramatically lower his market value.
Here are five players who I believe made the wrong move in their transfer decisions, and could drop in market value by the end of the 2014-15 European season. Also included with each player are clubs that would have served as better transfer fits.
Javier Hernandez | Position: Forward | Age: 26
Move: Manchester United to Real Madrid (loan)
Given all of the attacking talent that Madrid already has, it's hard to imagine where Hernandez fits into manager Carlo Ancelotti's plans. Hernandez is a forward with good scoring instincts who does virtually all of his work in the penalty area, and the Mexico international will need to find meaningful minutes on a Real Madrid team that already ranks fifth in penalty area touches across Europe's top five leagues.
Madrid already relies heavily on Karim Benzema as a center forward in the team's 4-3-3 formation, and even in Benzema's absence Ancelotti has options in a central role. Cristiano Ronaldo -- who indirectly expressed his unhappiness about the team's transfer dealings -- can already play centrally as target forward. More important, Ancelotti has a reputation for being tactically flexible in the attacking nature of his teams, and the manager also can add talented midfielders such as Isco and Jese to the lineup to give opponents a different look.