Everton have made a number of bizarre transfer deals in recent times, although arguably one of the most head-scratching was the addition of promising Switzerland international Shani Tarashaj, with the playmaker having simply not been given a chance to impress during his four-and-a-half-year stay at Goodison Park.

The Toffees had moved to sign the 5 foot 9 menace from Grasshoppers back in January 2016, securing the signing for a reported fee of around £3m, before loaning the then-youngster back to his former club until the end of the season in order to complete his national service.

Speaking at the time, Roberto Martinez had waxed lyrical about the quality of the Merseysiders' new addition, describing the forward as an "enormous young talent" and tipping him to have a "great future" in the game.

There was no doubt excitement at the club as the talented ace ended that 2015/16 season with 12 goals and four assists in all competitions for the Zurich outfit, having also been selected as part of Switzerland's squad for Euro 2016, albeit while making just a solitary substitute appearance in the competition.

Despite that obvious promise, the player's chances of making an impact upon his eventual move to England were instantly inhibited by the sacking of the aforementioned Martinez, with the Spaniard's successor Ronald Koeman seemingly not taking a liking to the new arrival.

The former wonderkid would go on to spend much of the next few seasons out on loan having been unable to force his way into the first-team plans with the Premier League side, joining Eintracht Frankfurt in 2016, before a later stint back in his homeland with former club Grasshoppers, as well as with Dutch side FC Emmen.

The five-cap ace was ultimately released by the Goodison outfit in the summer of 2020 with a year still to run on his existing deal - having seen his time in the Netherlands brought to a premature end - leaving the club after failing to ever make a senior appearance despite his lengthy stay in English football, with his only outings coming for the club's U21 side.

After a stint without a club, Tarashaj was snapped up by FC Zurich in January 2021, although after scoring once in just 12 games he has since called time on his career, doing so earlier this month at the age of just 27 having been cruelly hampered by injury of late.

That is no doubt a sad end to a career that had started so brightly, with it something of a shame that he was never afforded the opportunity to shine during his anonymous stint with Everton.