Everton have made too many recent transfer mistakes, whether it was by letting a player go for too cheap, or by signing a player for a hefty price tag who failed to live up to expectations - or is still failing.

However, they have also made too many mistakes in not signing high-quality players when they had the chance who have since gone on to become world-class - like new Liverpool star Luis Diaz who has been described by former Reds midfielder Adam Lallana on BBC Radio 5 Live as "phenomenal".

Journalist Fabrizio Romano claimed in the summer that Diaz wanted Everton as a "priority" and a deal which would have seen James Rodriguez head the other way back to his former club Porto on-loan, was progressing and the club were confident it would be agreed.

After no agreement was reached, and Rodriguez was sold to Al-Rayyan in Qatar, the deal was taken quickly off the table, with Porto aware that they could attract a higher fee in the January transfer window - as they did with the Colombian forward heading to Merseyside - but to the red part.

Since completing a £37m move to Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool side, the 25-year-old has scored once in four Premier League appearances, making 2.3 key passes per game as well as completing 62% of his dribbles and winning an impressive 73% of his aerial battles per game.

In all competitions, Diaz ranks in the top 7% among wingers across Europe's top five leagues and continental competitions in dribbles completed per 90 minutes (2.92), as well as in the top 10% for pass completion percentage per 90 (83.2%) and long passes per 90 (90.3%).

His defensive contributions have been impressive too, ranking in the top 2% for tackles in the final third per 90 (0.62) and in the top 1% for successful pressure percentage with 35.4%.

Diaz, who has been heralded as a "livewire", has developed at a rate of knots, and the quality of goals he has scored has been described as "frightening."

Everton will be regretting not completing the deal in the summer for the forward, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison struggling to reach the same heights they have done in recent seasons.

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