Former Crystal Palace CEO, Simon Jordan has named former Nigerian striker Ade Akinbiyi as the worst signing he made during his time at the club.

Jordan, who led the Eagles from 2000 to 2010, signed Akinbiyi for £2.2 million in his second year in charge, but the striker failed to live up to the hefty price tag.

Akinbiyi scored just three goals in 24 appearances for Crystal Palace, prompting Jordan’s harsh assessment of the deal.

Speaking about the transfer, Jordan said, “Ade Akin Bad Buy [Akinbiyi]. He just was useless. I wasted my time and money, and he wasted his own time.”

“The reality is how weak one can be when one says, ‘I don’t want to do this’ and is worn down by the processes of the manager, eventually knowing something is wrong but you continually do it and then you’re surprised by the outcome.”

When asked who was to blame for the disastrous signing, Jordan spread the responsibility.

“It was on the player, it was on the manager, and it was on me. I should’ve said no, but the problem is when you’re the owner of a football club, you have to back him or sack him.

“I’m in a situation where this is my champion, and he says he wants him. This guy looks bleeding useless to me and is going to cost me a fortune.”

Jordan admitted he had his doubts but felt obligated to back the manager:

“I was looking at the boat he was buying thinking, ‘I could buy that boat if I wasn’t buying that club-footed clown that I know isn’t going to be of any use to me.’ And that’s what I ended up doing, and so he proved to be. I got neither the boat nor a decent player.”

Akinbiyi could only make one appearance and struggled to fit in Nigeria’s National Team squad due to inconsistent performances at the club level.