Everton have signed plenty of deadweight during Farhad Moshiri’s reign, with over £500m spent and almost nothing to show for it.

However, when Carlo Ancelotti was brought in it seemed like things might be starting to change. A summer of rebuilding saw a brand-new midfielder enter the fray, with Abdoulaye Doucoure finally giving in to years of being linked to Goodison Park by moving for £20m.

It seemed like a smart piece of business, taking a strong, physical yet technically brilliant player from the recently relegated Watford.

He was a midfielder with an eye for a goal yet has only shown this on a few occasions for the Merseyside outfit. Indeed, the Mali international has just five goals in 71 appearances for the Toffees.

The 29-year-old has also suffered with injuries during his stint at the club, which combined with his less-than-impressive form has unsurprisingly seen his value plummet.

Stolen for what seemed like a £20m bargain, CIES Football Observatory now rate him at just €10m (£8.9m). This marks a worrying 55.5% decrease in value.

Whilst featuring for the Hornets, journalist Matt Spiro questioned why nobody had gone for him sooner. He listed the attributes in which he thought he excelled, labelling him: “Strong, technical, great engine, uses ball well, scores goals."

However, since moving to Goodison Park he has seldom shown these qualities to the fullest effect.

With Frank Lampard having completed a similar midfield overhaul this summer, having brought in Amadou Onana, Idrissa Gana Gueye and James Garner, now might be time to move Doucoure on following his ultimately disappointing spell. 

He has shown flashes throughout the early parts of his Everton career, with Ancelotti often relying on the relationship he and Allan struck up to pin down his 4-4-2 system.

However, his inability on the ball often let him down for other managers. He ranks in the 28th percentile for pass completion percentage for midfielders across Europe's top five leagues and averages a measly 2.83 progressive passes per 90, a stat that puts him in the worst 21% of players.

Injuries at the wrong time and a lack of stability at the helm have hindered Doucoure’s career on Merseyside, and despite his performances having tailed off with regard to quality more recently, he will likely be remembered fondly by Evertonians as a reminder of an era that promised so much under the legendary Italian boss.