Everton have endured a miserable record over the years with regards to recruitment - particularly during the Farhad Moshiri regime - after splashing the cash on a number of high-profile additions who simply failed to work out.

A notable example of the Merseyside outfit's market failings is that of Morgan Schneiderlin, with the Frenchman having endured a torrid time of it at Goodison Park after signing from Manchester United back in January 2017.

The defensive midfielder had previously impressed at former club Southampton under then-Toffees boss Ronald Koeman, with the Dutchman having seemingly been keen on a reunion after sanctioning the £24m switch.

While a strong performer for the Saints, there may well have been doubts about the 6 foot 1 man's quality following what was a miserable spell at Old Trafford, with United legend Rio Ferdinand at one stage writing that the 15-cap dud offered 'zero threat' in the centre of the park.

Despite that damning assessment, the Goodison outfit went ahead with the move regardless in the hope of helping the player to recapture his previous form, with the club seemingly not the only ones to have had faith in the one-time Strasbourg man.

Pundit Ray Parlour notably suggested at the time that Schneiderlin could well be a "perfect" addition and a "very good signing" for Koeman and co, despite acknowledging his struggles at the Theatre of Dreams.

The former Arsenal cult hero was not alone in his belief that it would represent a good move for all concerned, with BBC Sport pundit Andy Townsend also writing that it would 'not be a gamble' to prise the player from United.

As it proved, however, both Townsend and Parlour, in particular, were made to look rather silly as the former France international went on to distinctly underwhelm in an Everton shirt, notably scoring once and laying on just three assists in his 88 appearances.

In fact, the £3.15m-rated man almost recorded as many red cards as he did goal involvements during his time at the club, having been dismissed on three occasions across all competitions.

One dismissal, in particular, saw the defensive midfielder come under fire, as he was awarded two yellow cards late on in a 3-0 defeat to Lyon in the Europa League back in November 2017, with pundit Jermaine Jenas going as far as to label him "disgraceful and unprofessional" as a result.

Arguably the nadir of his time with the Toffees, however, came just a few months later during a clash with Crystal Palace in February 2018, having seemingly been booed by his own supporters while entering the fray as a second-half substitute.

The now 32-year-old failed to truly recover from there and was eventually sold on to Ligue 1 side Nice in the summer of 2020, with one report suggesting the fee was potentially as little as £2.6m, representing a real dismal piece of business for the club.

It wasn't only the Merseysiders left red-faced by that flawed signing, however, with Parlour's earlier bold claim coming back to bite him.