Everton striker Neal Maupay is Brighton & Hove Albion's all-time Premier League top goalscorer, level with Glenn Murray on 26, but has failed to offer even a shadow of his former cutting edge since transferring to Goodison Park last summer.

The Toffees appointed the stoic and gritty Sean Dyche to replace the dismissed Frank Lampard in the managerial position in January, but the recent purple patch should not negate the shambolic failures on the transfer front and consequently the pitch over the past several years, running the Merseyside into the ground like a fallen plane.

Indeed, Everton staved off relegation from the top-flight by the skin of their teeth last term, with a late surge of form preserving coveted status among the crème de la crème of English football once again, but the ensuing summer transfer left little to be admired, certainly from an attacking perspective.

Dwight McNeil and the Frenchman were signed, and while the former Burnley winger has been a steady presence, scoring the winner against Brentford last time out, his talismanic peer has offered little impactful contribution over his time in Everton colours.

How much has Maupay cost Everton?

When Maupay was signed for £15m in August, it was viewed as a shrewd deal, with Maupay a steady goalscorer for the Seagulls over his time at the club, scoring at least eight goals in each Premier League season.

But since his seasonal switch up north, the £50k-per-week ace has clinched just the solitary strike after 22 appearances across all competitions, hardly the reliable force desired to navigate away from danger at the pit of the division once again.

Given that the 26-year-old scored 27 goals and provided seven assists for Albion, the fact that he has fallen so drastically in front of goal is alarming, with FBref ranking the dud among the bottom 2% of forwards for rate of goals across Europe's top five leagues.

Branded as a forward "who can't finish" by former Aston Villa talisman Gabby Agbonlahor and "not good enough" by journalist Dean Jones already this season, Toffees owner Farhad Moshiri has effectively paid out £8m per goal for the former Seagulls man, given that Maupay's wages have totalled £1.5m thus far.

With the club one point and three places above 18th-placed Bournemouth, also holding the joint-lowest striking tally in the division, the lack of offensive impetus could indeed sour the fight for survival.

While £16.5m is not the most exorbitant of fees in the grand scheme of modern football, it is a figure that will continue to expand as Maupay's sorry Blues career drags on, and should relegation become an actuality come the end of the campaign, the choice to sign the uncapped Frenchman could prove to be a detrimental mistake.