Everton are a club that has been financially devastated in recent years, largely through the thoughtless leadership of Farhad Moshiri and his countless questionable decisions.
Although they tried to offset around £170m of their losses to the COVID-19 pandemic, which admittedly devastated the entire footballing world, it was not enough to prevent their relegation rivals from the 2021/22 season writing to the Premier League in a desperate last-gasp attempt to secure safety.
Although it turned into a failed venture, as Burnley and Leeds United have both since been relegation across separate campaigns, they have since penned a new letter alongside Leicester City to the Toffees’ prospective new owners warning them of their reignited intentions to sue, dependant on the result of an ongoing case.
Whilst that is a worry for another day, the task has now fallen onto Sean Dyche to once again navigate them clear of relegation, with a squad delicately assembled for a cut price and easily good enough to ensure their top-flight status remains.
Much of their higher earners have been desperately offloaded in recent years to trim down a heavily bloated outfit, whilst some still linger around. However, with the sheer volume of failed transfers made over the last decade has made it a tough task to accomplish with speed.
Who is Everton’s worst-ever signing?
Due to the frequency of their high-profile failures, it therefore makes it even harder to pin down a sole victor for the title of their worst-ever signing.
After all, it is depressing to note the sheer number of stars signed for huge fees who have left on a free. Gylfi Sigurdsson, Yerry Mina and Jean-Philippe Gbamin are just three examples of duds who offered no return.
Then, whilst the likes of Michael Keane and Andre Gomes still remain at Goodison Park, they provide little in the way of quality on the pitch. The latter hasn't even played yet this season to sum up his individual woes.
However, Ronald Koeman managed to achieve a patented blend of the two with Yannick Bolasie, who marked a huge acquisition poised to usher in a new era of free-spending under their Iranian owner.
With an endless bag of tricks, and enough pace and dynamism to uphold a front line on his own, understandably excitement was high as the former DR Congo international made his Merseyside move.
How many games did Yannick Bolasie play for Everton?
It was to be a truly ill-fated deal, with a promising start almost instantly cut short following an innocuous challenge from Anthony Martial.
The 34-year-old was left in a heap in front of his home crowd after just his 15 appearance in Royal Blue, with their worst fears set to be confirmed. It was an ACL injury, and one that would drastically alter the future of a once exciting career.
Bolasie would only manage a total of 32 outings for the Toffees, scoring a desperately disappointing two goals and assisting a further four. Writer Alex Keble would brand the winger as “really unlucky” following the surgery, and rightly so.
Then, speaking in 2021, the former Sporting CP loanee would outline his turmoil regarding such a torrid period: “I’ve always just wanted to play football. Hence why I’ve probably killed myself going out on these loans from Everton.
“Other players might have said: ‘Actually, I’m coming back from my injury and I’ve got a five-year contract. ‘I can sit here while I build myself up slowly.”
In the end, his desperation to return would fall short, and he eventually departed for Turkey; his last stint in football before enduring a recent unemployed period.
How much did Yannick Bolasie cost Everton?
Whilst the on-pitch failures of his doomed move to Everton were frustrating, the fiscal burden of the deal was what truly disappointed, as it arguably offered a precursor for what was to come.
After all, the £28m expended marked an astronomical fee, matching the then club-record fee spent to bring Romelu Lukaku to the club. The hope was that he might strike up an instant partnership with the Belgian, who remains their all-time top scorer in the Premier League, but that was obviously not to be.
In the end, Bolasie left for free, whilst the current AS Roma star recouped a sizable £75m to offset some of the more lucrative transfer duds they would oversee.
What was Yannick Bolasie’s salary at Everton?
Naturally, a lofty salary would come alongside such a huge transfer fee, given the 6 foot 2 speedster was expected to underpin an exciting new regime.
However, as was the case with that upfront figure, it unsurprisingly backfired terribly. That made his five-year contract and £75k-per-week salary somewhat daunting.
Although what he might have taken from the club was slightly offset by loan spells with Aston Villa, Anderlecht, Sporting CP and Middlesbrough, in total Bolasie would drain the club of a further £9.7m, bringing his total cost up to £37.7m.
To emphasise just how dreadful a deal this turned out to be, when comparing this figure with the number of games he ended up playing, Moshiri actually expended £1.17m for every appearance the 50-cap star made.
Did Yannick Bolasie deserve to earn £75k-per-week?
Realistically, Bolasie did not deserve to earn anything near the salary he amassed. But, the injuries that would plague the skilful maverick were far from his fault, and he was poised to shine at Goodison Park.
After all, the campaign before making the switch saw the Eagles enjoy an ace who scored five and assisted a further four in the league, dressing up such impressive figures with a play style to get supporters raving.
2021
€1.5m (£1.3m)
56% decrease
2020
€3.5m (£3m)
41% decrease
2019
€6m (£5.1m)
60% decrease
2018
€15m (£12.9m)
25% decrease
2017
€20m (£17.2m)
N/A
2016
€20m (£17.2m)
N/A
All stats via Transfermarkt
In the end, they saw such a prospect taken from them, and across his entire five years on Merseyside, he would not amass the same figures earned in just one final year at Selhurst Park.
How much did other Everton players earn?
Whilst that £75k-per-week earned did not make Bolasie their top earner, it was certainly not far off from those within the squad during the 2016/17 term, via Capology.
In fact, that title somehow went to Morgan Schneiderlin, who garnered a truly ridiculous £120k-per-week, even more than Lukaku’s £80k-per-week.
The former Palace winger instead sat in third, narrowly ahead of stars such as Kevin Mirallas, Ashley Williams and Leighton Baines, the latter of which is widely regarded as one of the club’s most legendary figures in recent memory.
