Everton have earned a reputation for transfer disasters under the ownership of Farhad Moshiri and have often found themselves splashing cash on the wrong players, which has ultimately left them fighting for survival in the Premier League and in financial difficulty.
They don’t always get it wrong and last summer acquired the services of a number of players who have become integral members of the team, with James Tarkowski and Amadou Onana in particular flourishing since their arrivals at Goodison Park. They both rank among the Toffees’ five best performers this season according to WhoScored metrics.
However, it has not been enough to improve Everton’s fortunes in the Premier League as they again find themselves struggling to retain their top-flight status due to their weakened attacking threat caused by Richarlison’s exit and Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s constant injury issues, failing to adequately replace either of their contributions in front of goal over the last two transfer windows.
It’s not just the disappointing players that the powerbrokers at Goodison Park have signed which has been galling, but also the targets that they have allowed to slip through the net over the past few years, players who could have been influential enough to avoid the relegation concerns that Everton are currently experiencing.
One player who was set for a move to the blue half of Merseyside in 2021 was Liverpool’s Luis Diaz, with the Toffees locked in talks with Porto over a potential £20m deal which included James Rodriguez going the other way in order to secure the signing.
It was the latter who caused the collapse of the proposal as he couldn’t agree personal terms with Porto, and just a few months later, the talented forward signed for bitter rivals Liverpool.
Diaz made an instant impact upon his arrival at Anfield and quickly became a trusted player in Jurgen Klopp’s highly competitive forward line over their quadruple run in the second half of last season, scoring ten goals and delivering eight assists in just 38 appearances so far for the club.
Now rated at £98m by CIES Football Observatory, the winger – who was dubbed “exceptional” by Klopp – would have been the dream replacement for Richarlison if he had secured his future with Everton. The Colombian forward offers energy, creativity and, most importantly, a regular supply of goal contributions, all of which the Toffees are lacking at present.
The 26-year-old hasn’t played in the Premier League for four months, yet his goal tally (three) is still equal or superior to every player in Sean Dyche’s current squad in the current top-flight campaign.
The collapse of the deal for Diaz, and the realisation that they could’ve signed him for just over 20% of his current mark value, will surely be a development which haunts Moshiri. Alas, the Goodison Park hierarchy must continue their search for the next trustworthy forward to improve performances and get Everton climbing up the table again.
