25 January 2023 , 11:33
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These are turbulent times at Everton, where the club are without a manager, staring at relegation and have reportedly been put up for sale.
Owner Farhad Moshiri is reportedly exploring a sale of the club for around £500million – just a day after sacking Frank Lampard as manager. Moshiri has been the Toffees’ majority owner since purchasing a 49.9 per cent stake on February 27, 2016.
The British-Iranian businessman increased his shares in the club to 94 per cent in January 2022 after sinking millions of pounds into the club. With Everton 19th in the Premier League and in disarray, now looks like a good time to reflect on their transfer business since Moshiri arrived.
Here we rate and slate every deal done over the past seven years, which have set Moshiri back a whopping £731.3m. Warning: there are a lot of them.
Yannick Bolasie
£25m, Crystal Palace, August 2016
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Miss
Bolasie arrived amid a wave of optimism after 13 goals and 30 assists in 144 games for Palace. “Yannick is a player who has been a long time on my radar because he's the type of winger I like: fast, strong and he can play different positions in the forward line,” said manager Ronald Koeman.
He didn’t deliver. The winger provided just two goals and four assists for the Toffees, with his five-year contract an expensive misstep. He’s now at Caykur Rizespor in the Turkish second division.
Ashley Williams
£12m, Swansea City, August 2016
Hit
It didn’t start well. “On paper I probably couldn't have chosen a worse team's dressing room to walk into, because I know they all disliked me, I kind of disliked all of them, and we've had so many arguments over the years,” Williams admitted in 2021.
Once they’d got their differences out of the way, Williams turned into a first-team regular, playing 73 times over three years, albeit with a loan to Stoke sandwiched into the middle. Judged against other Everton transfers of the period, he was a minor success.
Idrissa Gueye
£7.1m, Aston Villa, August 2016
Hit
One of the few deals from this period who count as an unqualified success. Gueye arrived on a four-year deal after one season with Villa and was an immediate hit.
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The tough-tackling midfielder stayed for three seasons before Paris Saint-Germain snapped him up. The fact Everton brought him back in August tells you how highly he is rated by the club.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is one of the few success stories (Getty Images)£1.5m, Sheffield United, August 2016
Hit
A bargain. Calvert-Lewin had just been out on loan at Northampton Town when he was signed by Everton. The 19-year-old turned out to be a shrewd piece of business.
He has scored 59 goals and contributed 18 assists in 202 appearances for the club. Without injuries, that figure would surely be higher too.
Maarten Stekelenburg
Undisclosed, Fulham, July 2016
Miss
A transfer driven by Koeman, who made his Dutch compatriot the first signing of his Goodison reign.
The gigantic goalkeeper was 33 when he joined Everton and never held the No1 jersey for long, with Jordan Pickford arriving the following summer. Stekelenburg made just 26 appearances over four years at Everton.
Enner Valencia
Loan, West Ham, August 2016
Miss
A truly forgettable loan spell from the Ecuador international. He scored three goals in 23 games. Everton unsurprisingly did not activate the £14.5m option to sign him permanently.
Morgan Schneiderlin
£24m, Manchester United, January 2017
Miss
The ball-winning midfielder arrived on a four-and-a-half year contract, joining up with Koeman, who managed him during his best spell in English football at Southampton.
Things hadn’t worked out for Schneiderlin at United and, while Everton got more use out of him, he did not turn into the solid, dependable midfielder they needed. He was sold to Nice in June 2020, having failed to leave much of an impression.
Ademola Lookman
£11m, Charlton, January 2017
Miss
Lookman arrived as a supremely talented 19-year-old. He left two years later having promised a lot but not really delivered across 48 appearances.
He has now found his feet with Atalanta, but his time at Goodison Park can’t really be judged as a success, despite the Toffees getting their money back when selling to RB Leipzig in July 2019.
Gylfi Sigurdsson
£45m, Swansea City, August 2017
A club-record transfer. Sigurdsson contributed 31 goals and 25 assists in 156 appearances for Everton.
Michael Keane
£30m, Burnley, July 2017
Hit
The 24-year-old defender joined as part of a summer spending spree. He is undoubtedly one of the most successful of the lot, with 189 appearances coming over the past five and a half years.
Jordan Pickford
£25m, Sunderland, June 2017
Hit
Pickford has kept his place as England’s number one goalkeeper while playing for Everton. While there has been frequent sniping over his form, the 28-year-old remains one of Everton’s best and most consistent players.
Davy Klaassen
Davy Klaasen was a flop at Everton (Everton FC)£23m, Ajax, June 2017
Miss
Koeman has to take some of the flak for the glut of flop signings during this period. Klaassen was 24 years old and came highly rated after a stellar start to his career with Ajax, yet made absolutely zero impact at Goodison, making just 16 appearances after signing a five-year deal.
Henry Onyekuru
£7m, Eupen, June 2017
Miss
The Nigeria international never made an appearance for Everton. He was sold to Monaco two years later after failing to get a work permit in the UK.
Sandro Ramirez
£5m, Malaga, July 2017
Miss
One goal in 16 appearances after signing a four-year contract.
Wayne Rooney
Free transfer, Manchester United, July 2017
Hit
The fabled son returned, gave his all and scored 11 goals in 40 appearances before heading off to DC United.
Cuco Martina
Free transfer, Southampton, July 2017
Miss
What a month July 2017 was for Everton. Martina joined up with Koeman after his Saints deal expired. The Dutch full-back made 28 appearances in three years with the club.
Nikola Vlasic
£8m, Hajduk Split, September 2017
Miss
A completely and utterly forgettable player, who arrived at the end of a summer of wasteful spending. The Croatian winger played 19 times for the club and is now on loan from West Ham at Torino.
Theo Walcott
£20m, Arsenal, January 2018
Miss
Walcott was still only 28 when he swapped Arsenal for Everton. But in general, he looked a shadow of his former self, with 11 goals and eight assists in 85 games a meagre return for £20m and a hefty wage packet.
Cenk Tosun
£27m, Besiktas, January 2018
Miss
Tosun had lit up Turkey, scoring 76 in 165 games for Besiktas. He scored 11 in 61 for Everton, who loaned him out twice before he returned to Besiktas for the third time in July.
Eliaquim Mangala
Loan, Manchester City, January 2018
Miss
If you don’t remember this move, it’s because Mangala made just two appearances for Everton.
Richarlison
Richarlison during his time at Everton (James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)£50m, Watford, July 2018
Hit
Rarely has a player fit into the ethos of a team so well. Richarlison came with a hefty price tag but immediately endeared himself to the fans.
Richarlison scored 53 goals in 152 appearances before being sold to Tottenham for £60m in July.
Yerry Mina
£27m, Barcelona, August 2018
Hit
He hasn’t been spectacular but the towering Colombian defender has stuck around for four and a half years and provided some strong performances, as well as eight goals.
Lucas Digne
£20m, Barcelona, August 2018
Hit
He left under a cloud after falling out with Rafa Benitez, but Digne was a dependable left-back for three and a half years. He scored six goals and provided 20 assists in 127 games for the club.
Kurt Zouma
Loan, Chelsea, August 2018
Hit
The fact Everton pursued a permanent deal for the French defender shows how successful his 2018/19 loan spell was. They couldn’t agree on one.
Bernard
Free transfer, Shakhtar Donetsk, August 2018
Hit
The 25-year-old winger came for free for Marco Silva. He left three years later having failed to set the world alight, but with eight goals and seven assists in 84 appearances. Unspectacular but at least he didn’t cost a huge fee.
Jonas Lossl
Free transfer, Huddersfield, May 2019
Miss
Never made an appearance for Everton.
Alex Iwobi
Alex Iwobi now plays in central midfield for Everton (Everton FC via Getty Images)£35m, Arsenal, August 2019
Hit
Iwobi has been a slow-burner at Everton. Signed as a winger, he is now proving much more effective in the middle of the pitch.
Jean-Philippe Gbamin
£25m, Mainz, August 2019
Miss
Eight appearances. That is all Everton have got out of Gbamin, who is now on loan at Trabzonspor after a stint with CSKA Moscow.
Fabian Delph
£9m, Manchester City, July 2019
Hit
Delph brought some experience and bite to the Toffees midfield for three years. He retired in September.
Djibril Sidibe
Loan, Monaco, August 2019
Miss
Right-back Sidibe came and played 28 games during the 2019/20 season. Everton did not use their option to buy.
Moise Kean
£25m, Juventus, August 2019
Miss
Four goals in 39 appearances was not what Everton were hoping for when they signed the young striker from Juventus. Kean is now back at Juve, on loan from Paris Saint-Germain.
Andre Gomes
Andre Gomes has been hampered by injuries (Everton FC via Getty Images)£25m, Barcelona, June 2019
Hit
The Portugal midfielder was signed after spending a season on loan with Everton. A serious ankle injury has him on the sidelines, but his mixture of class and tenacity as been a plus in midfield.
Jarrad Branthwaite
£1m, Carlisle United, January 2020
Miss
He’s still only 20 years old, so this could change, but so far Branthwaite has not offered much to Everton. The young defender is on loan with PSV after some time at Blackburn and could still come good.
Ben Godfrey
£20m, Norwich, October 2020
Hit
Godfrey is currently out with a fractured fibula and damaged ankle ligaments and has been a miss for Everton this season. The 25-year-old is still quite raw, but has shown plenty of promise.
Allan
£21m, Napoli, September 2020
Miss
Allan was by no means a flop for Everton, but it also seems too much to declare him a hit. The Brazilian came with a reputation from Napoli, and while he always got stuck in, he was quite limited on the ball.
Abdoulaye Doucoure
£20m, Watford, September 2020
Hit
A better fit than Allan. Doucoure’s all-round game has seen him contribute five goals and seven assists in 80 appearances. He may have fallen out with Frank Lampard, but he is likely to be involved again under his successor.
Niels Nkounkou
Free transfer, Marseille, July 2020
Miss
Seven appearances have come so far from a three-year contract. The 22-year-old Frenchman has just joined Saint-Etienne on loan after spells with Standard Liege and Cardiff.
James Rodriguez
James Rodriguez shone bright for a short time (Jan Kruger/POOL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)£20m, Real Madrid, September 2020
Miss
It was fun while it lasted, which – admittedly – wasn’t very long. Rodriguez joined Carlo Ancelotti’s side and shone bright for a short period, contributing six goals and nine assists in 26 games.
Joshua King
Nominal fee, Bournemouth, January 2021
Miss
Eleven games, zero goals. King came on deadline day but had no impact whatsoever. He’s now playing for Fenerbahce.
Robin Olsen
Loan, Roma, October 2020
Hit
The veteran goalkeeper did a fine job of standing in for Pickford on 11 occasions during the 2020/21 season.
Demarai Gray
£1.7m, Bayer Leverkusen, July 2021
Hit
A rare good-value transfer amid a sea of waste. Gray has often provided a bright spark for Everton, with 11 goals and six assists in 62 games so far.
Andros Townsend
Free transfer, Crystal Palace, July 2021
Miss
The experienced winger was a Benitez signing. He hasn’t been terrible by any means, and has scored a few screamers, but he also hasn’t produced consistently enough.
Salomon Rondon
Rafa Benitez signed Salomon Rondon for the third time (Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images)Free transfer, Dalian Professional, August 2021
Miss
Another Benitez signing. Three goals in 31 appearances saw his contract terminated last month.
Asmir Begovic
Free transfer, Bournemouth, July 2021
Hit
Has done what he was signed for as a back-up goalkeeper. Only called upon to play 10 times so far.
Andy Lonergan
Free transfer, West Brom, August 2021
Hit
The veteran goalkeeper hasn’t played a game. But he’s there just in case.
Vitaliy Mykolenko
£17m, Dynamo Kiev, January 2022
Miss
He could still change this rating, but so far Mykolenko has been pretty underwhelming at left-back. It doesn’t help that he’s joined Everton at an extremely difficult time.
Nathan Patterson
£16m, Rangers, January 2022
Jury’s out
The 21-year-old right-back arrived with a good reputation but has played just 16 times in a year so far.
Dele Alli
It didn't go to plan for Dele Alli at Everton (Everton FC via Getty Images)£40m, Tottenham, January 2022
Miss
The £40m is dependent on various performance-related clauses, so he probably won’t cost that much. But whatever the cost, Alli has not revived his career on Merseyside, as hoped. He’s now on loan with Besiktas after 13 games and zero goals or assists with Everton.
Donny van de Beek
Loan, Manchester United, January 2022
Miss
Another down-on-his-luck midfielder Everton hoped they could revive. They couldn’t. He played just seven times before returning to United.
Anwar El Ghazi
Loan, Aston Villa, January 2022
Miss
A continuation on a theme. Everton didn’t have much money for transfers, so they signed out-of-favour players on loan from Premier League rivals. Two appearances were the extent of his Everton career.
Amadou Onana
It's been a difficult time for Amadou Onana at Everton (PA)£33m, Lille, August 2022
Jury’s out
It’s early days but the towering midfielder has shown potential. He signed a five-year contract, so Everton better hope he comes good.
Dwight McNeil
£20m, Burnley, July 2022
Miss
McNeil came with plenty of excitement, but has two goals and one assist in 21 games so far. Like many of his team-mates, his consistency has been lacking.
Neal Maupay
£20m, Brighton, August 2022
Miss
It was hoped the Frenchman would be the answer to Everton’s chronic lack of goals. He has one goal in 15 games so far.
James Garner
£15m, Manchester United, September 2022
Miss
Just seven appearances so far for the young midfielder, who made a splash on loan with Nottingham Forest last season but hasn’t done the same at Goodison yet.
Idrissa Gueye
Undisclosed fee, PSG, September 2022
Jury’s out
He’s back for a second spell, but hasn’t made much of an impact yet.
James Tarkowski
James Tarkowski arrived on a free transfer (Getty Images)Free transfer, Burnley, July 2022
Hit
There was a bit of a queue for Tarkowski in the summer. Everton won the race and the centre-back has played frequently since. Results haven’t been good enough, but he should come good over his four-year deal.
Conor Coady
Loan, Wolves, July 2022
Hit
The Scouse defender returned to Merseyside and has played alongside Tarkowski this season to form an experienced duo. His leadership skills are important.
Ruben Vinagre
Loan, Sporting Lisbon, July 2022
Miss
Vinagre has made just four appearances this season.