It’s inevitable that not all transfers go well, but getting the majority of your new signings correct is a vital aspect of modern-day football. Everton Football Club have certainly found that out the hard way.

The days of teams being made up of a collection of homegrown talents are long gone and the need to appease fans and keep up with rivals via an influx of new, expensive arrivals every summer has become the norm.

Some sides have adapted to this change better than others in recent years, though, with the likes of Manchester City, Leicester and Brentford all achieving success at their respective levels largely due to solid recruitment.

However, not all clubs have been so astute in the transfer market. Everton have experienced new-found wealth under the ownership of Farhad Moshiri, although spending their fortune effectively has proved rather challenging.

The likes of Alex Iwobi, Moise Kean and Davy Klaassen have all arrived for substantial fees without ever coming close to repaying the Toffees’ outlay on the pitch. But one recent acquisitions time on Merseyside has been far more disappointing than all of the others.

In the summer of 2019, Jean-Philippe Gbamin arrived from Mainz 05 after Everton paid his £25m price tag.

After making 95 appearances for the Bundesliga outfit, Gbamin had cultivated a reputation for being an intelligent, mobile holding midfielder capable of dribbling, shooting from distance effectively and dictating play with his impressive range of passing.

Yet nobody could foresee the misfortune that would consume the 26-year-old’s career. In his first season on English shores, the engine room operator managed just 135 minutes of Premier League action before a series of injuries sidelined him for the remainder of the campaign.

An Achilles tendon issue followed on from a serious hamstring problem, and following his comeback in April, Gbamin was consigned to the treatment table once again after spending just 11 minutes on the pitch against Crystal Palace. All of that has led to the midfielder missing a whopping 619 days of football.

But things are finally starting to look up for the Ivory Coast international. He completed only his second full 90 minutes in an Everton shirt against Huddersfield Town in the EFL Cup in the opening weeks of the current campaign, providing hope that he can start to put a miserable chapter of his career behind him.

Nevertheless, Everton’s director of football undoubtedly had a transfer shocker over the £65,000-per-week flop. A return of four appearances in just over two years has seen Gbamin’s market value plummet to just £13.5m despite him entering his prime years.

Whether the African can resurrect his career at Goodison Park remains to be seen, although it’s unlikely he’ll ever reach the heights he appeared destined to prior to his arrival.

And, in other news…Everton increasingly likely to sign £187k-p/w gem, fans surely buzzing