Everton made some horrific deals under Farhad Moshiri’s ownership that ended up in them having a points deduction two years ago – but one in particular still haunts the present squad under David Moyes.
The British-Iranian businessman joined Everton in February 2016 with a 49.9 percent stake in the club, aiming to take the Bill Kenwright-era onwards to new heights.
A wild transfer window in 2016 saw them sign the likes of Ashley Williams, Yannick Bolasie, Morgan Schneiderlin and more, but it was the transfer window following where they spent a lot of money with the likes of Davy Klaassen, Cenk Tosun and more coming through under Ronald Koeman and Sam Allardyce.
They weren’t the best signings, and Everton have suffered in the Premier League for a while since. However, Moshiri’s green-lighting on the decision to sell Lucas Digne just days before Rafa Benitez was sacked was nonsensical – and still haunts Everton today, unfortunately for David Moyes.
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Everton selling Lucas Digne and signing Vitaliy Mykolenko was incredibly nonsensical
Everton had Lucas Digne in their ranks at the start of the 2021-22 campaign, and at that time, he was one of the best left-backs in the league.
The Frenchman had joined Everton in 2018, and had recorded 22 goal involvements in just 100 games for the Toffees by the end of his third Premier League season.
However, a poor start to the 2021-22 campaign, in which he had at one point been named on-field captain by Rafa Benitez, led to his final appearance being in early December after failing to agree with the Spaniard on his tactics.
Season Premier League games Premier League goal contributions
2018-19 35 8
2019-20 35 7
2020-21 30 7
2021-22 13 0
Lucas Digne’s Premier League appearances for Everton
Digne was shipped off to Aston Villa for £25million, where he incidentally grabbed his first goal contribution of the season against Everton for the Villans.
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And, earlier in the window, Everton had signed Vitaliy Mykolenko as his long-term replacement.
It’s safe to say that hasn’t worked out. Mykolenko has just six goal contributions in 118 Premier League games to date, less than Digne managed in his first season alone – and it looks to be an awful decision from Benitez and Moshiri.
Everton are still recovering from Lucas Digne sale due to left-back conundrum
Vitaliy Mykolenko is out of contract at the end of the season, and although summer signing Adam Aznou joining from Bayern Munich offered them hope, he’s yet to feature for the first-team.
What made the deal even more nonsensical was that Everton sacked Benitez just three days after Digne departed for Villa Park, with Frank Lampard potentially having been able to give the Frenchman a rebirth and an important role going forward.
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Mykolenko’s performances have been sub-par, and given he’s so far set to leave the club in the summer, a left-back is needed. Digne was an almost perfect replacement for Leighton Baines, and at the age of 32, he’s still going strong for Aston Villa with 10 starts this season.
Aznou has proven he’s not ready for the Premier League just yet in David Moyes’ eyes, and Everton need a new man in their ranks. For all of their awful transfers on the pitch, Mykolenko isn’t their worst by any means, but the manner in which his situation could have been avoided was plain for all to see.