You know what it’s like: the hype and the buzz around a major international tournament in the summer.

Previously unheralded players have a chance to shine on the big stage – and many take it, delivering big performances in a team that, typically, over-achieves on their pre-tournament expectations.

Many scouts have been seduced in this way, recommending players to their managers that have subsequently gone on to flop after making a big money move at club football.

This, if nothing else, is a cautionary tale of why it’s best not to be too hasty to sign players that have thrived at big tournaments…

Stéphane Guivarc’h

The football betting odds for EURO 2024 confirm that, once again, France (4/1) are expected to be there or thereabouts at a major event once again – only England (7/2) are considered to have a greater chance of lifting the trophy.

Les Bleus, with a squad blessed with talent from front to back, will also be at the forefront of many football betting tips columns too – how could a team containing Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Dayot Upamecano not?

There will be no surprises from this 2024 vintage, but in 1998 France’s World Cup winning squad contained a pair of unheralded players that would later secure Premier League moves – and flop, to say the least.

Bernard Diomede swapped Auxerre for Liverpool after that World Cup, but he would make just five appearances for the Reds – Gerard Houllier deciding he wasn’t up to the task.

But the bigger story, arguably, was that of Stephane Guivarc’h, the striker who kept Thierry Henry and Christophe Dugarry out of the starting eleven for the World Cup final.

His performances in the tournament secured a summer move to Newcastle United, where he would make just four league appearances under Kenny Dalglish.

Guivarc’h was unceremoniously dumped upon Glasgow Rangers, where he would play 14 times before returning to France at Auxerre.

El Hadji Diouf

Senegal were the sensations of the World Cup in 2002. They defeated defending champions France in their opening game, before doing enough in their group to progress to the knockout phase.

Sweden were defeated in the last 16, before a heartbreaking defeat to Turkey after extra time ensued.

The Senegalese were characterised by their fast, strong and direct style of play, which was very much en vogue in the Premier League at the time – no wonder one of their key players, El Hadji Diouf, was the subject of a fraught bidding war that summer.

Unfortunately, the forward found the transition to life in England tough, with a lack of goals matched by controversial moments on and off the pitch.

In the end, Diouf would score just eight goals in 60 appearances for the Reds, although he would subsequently enjoy some success with Bolton Wanderers, where Sam Allardyce was able to coax better performances from him.

Kleberson

When Brazil won the 2002 World Cup, it wasn’t the prolific Ronaldo, the dynamic Rivaldo or the mercurial Ronaldinho that was considered to be their key player by head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Instead, that honour was bestowed upon Kleberson, a hard-running midfielder who was very much the salt to that vaunted front three’s sweetness.

Sir Alex Ferguson, typically an outstanding judge of talent, was convinced enough to splash £6 million on the Atletico Paranaense player in a summer of activity that also saw Cristiano Ronaldo head to Old Trafford.

Sadly, Kleberson’s career did not exactly take off like CR7’s, making just 20 appearances across two seasons at the club before heading off to Turkey and then back to Brazil.

So you’ve been warned: if your team signs a player based upon their performances at EURO 2024 this summer, don’t be too hasty in putting up the bunting.