Everton's transfer strategy for the January transfer window offered a microcosm into exactly how the club is being run at the minute, leaving all their business until the final day only to fail with numerous bids.

However, it was reported just before deadline day that Sean Dyche's Toffees had made a late bid to sign Conor Gallagher from Chelsea, with the fee set to rise to £45m; the exact amount they had received for Anthony Gordon just a day earlier.

It polarised the fanbase as to why the club would consider spending all their budget on one central midfielder, but having since recorded no new incomings, it is fair to say they would have changed that stance had they known.

The 22-year-old could have offered an injection of energy and more importantly goals into the engine room, partnering Amadou Onana for the foreseeable future.

Everton are the second-lowest scoring team in the Premier League at the moment, with only Wolverhampton Wanderers having scored less.

Among their top scorers, Demarai Gray and Gordon sit atop with just three goals. Having now lost one of those assets, things are looking particularly bleak with no added firepower to ease concerns.

Gallagher would certainly have provided that, especially given how he performed for Crystal Palace last season.

Joining the Eagles on loan, many touted them as the favourites to go down under an inexperienced Patrick Vieira.

However, with the goalscoring exploits of the midfield workhorse, they managed to finish comfortably mid-table. This was bolstered greatly by the eight goals and three assists from Gallagher in the engine room.

Not only would his tangible assets have been a welcome addition to Goodison Park, but his second-to-none work rate would also have had a huge impact. 

Journalist and analytics expert Patrick Rowe even took to Twitter to outline his main assets, noting his: "Relentless work rate" and "threat in the final third."

These have been sorely lacking on Merseyside, yet could've been rectified in one fell swoop.

His play style would have been further facilitated by the presence of Onana too, with the young Belgian offering a fine defensive foundation with which the England international could have thrived.

This season, in his debut campaign in England, the 21-year-old is averaging 2.6 tackles and 1.2 clearances per game, offering a success rate of 58% in all duels he competes in, via Sofascore).

To pair these two could have formed one of the league's better midfields for the foreseeable future, had Everton just pushed a little bit harder. With the window now slammed shut and having not spent a penny, they could have at least made this deal happen to appease the fans.