After such a disappointing 2022/23 campaign for Everton, it was inevitable that manager Sean Dyche was going to shake things up a bit ahead of the current season.
Finishing 17th, just two points above relegated Leicester City, the Toffees swerved the unfathomable prospect of sinking into the second for the first time in their Premier League history, but the early omens this year do not bode well.
Indeed, Everton have picked up just one point from their opening four matches, and Dyche will have utilised the ongoing international break to instil optimism and uniformity into his squad, desperate to now construct a promising spell of form.
vs Fulham
0-1
vs Aston Villa
0-4
vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
0-1
vs Sheffield United
2-2
After finishing last term as the division's second-lowest scorers, Everton have welcomed several attacking additions to the fold but did so at the expense of bolstering the central midfield and defence.
That's despite selling Alex Iwobi, winger-turned-central-playmaker, to Fulham for £22m, with another centre-midfielder seeing his contract terminated in Jean-Philippe Gbamin, who failed to make so much as a mark during his four years on the Merseyside club's books.
How much did Everton pay for Jean-Philippe Gbamin?
Everton signed Gbamin from German Bundesliga outfit Mainz for £25m in 2019 on a five-year contract, viewed as an apt replacement for Idrissa Gana Gueye after the Senegal midfielder completed a £30m transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.
It's ironic that Gbamin's time at the club is nothing other than a catastrophic failure – largely due to his injury misfortune – and Gueye returned to the Goodison Park side in 2022 to bolster the defensive fortitude of the midfield.
Gueye had been a crucial part of Everton's team since signing from Aston Villa for £7m in 2016, heralded for his "amazing" performances by former teammate Morgan Schneiderlin.
Gbamin was supposed to be the perfect successor, athletic, aggressive and energetic, but soon after arriving on English shores his dream move unfurled into a nightmare.
Why did Everton sign Jean-Philippe Gbamin?
It looked to be a promising acquisition at the time, with Gbamin impressing during his time in Germany and Silva acknowledging his "very good level of performance".
Having made 95 appearances for Mainz, the 17-cap international was meant to be the solution to Gueye's outgoing; a like-for-like transfer and a defensive midfielder with proficiency in his ball-playing ability.
Indeed, as per Sofascore, Gbamin completed 80% of his passes during the 2018/19 Bundesliga term, averaging 1.6 tackles per game and winning 57% of his aerial duels, very much showing signs of an all-encompassing No. 6 tailor-made for life in the unrelenting Premier League.
There was a solid foundation to build from, and for all his natural talent, Gbamin's shocking luck on the injury front has left the decision to sign him for Everton a most expensive blunder.
How much did Jean-Philippe Gbamin earn at Everton?
Penning his five-year deal with the Goodison Park side, Gbamin earned a pretty penny to complement his £25m acquisition, which was part of a lucrative summer of spending for the Toffees which saw them part with more than £100m as they looked to close the gap on those at the top of the Premier League after finishing eighth the year before, just three points off European qualification.
Earning a reported wage of £75k-per-week across his career on Merseyside, Everton now look back on the deal with poignant regret for a player who spent such little time on the pitch due to his injury problems, sidelined for 99 matches during his time at the club.
Gbamin earned the best part of £8m across his two full seasons before loan moves away at CSKA Moscow and Trabzonspor, and when partnering this with his £25m transfer, he cost the Premier League outfit around £33m during his stay, despite making just eight appearances since his arrival.
It says it all that Dyche decided to terminate the ace's contract at the end of the 2023 summer transfer window, cutting their losses on a signing who will go down as one of the worst, most non-existent deals in the side's modern history.
How did Jean-Philippe Gbamin perform at Everton?
It's safe to say that Gbamin did not enjoy success on the pitch at Goodison Park, scarcely gracing the grass across his four years registered as an Everton midfielder.
Playing in the opening two matches of the 2019/20 season – keeping clean sheets on both occasions – the Ivorian looked like an unrefined if talented midfielder and one who could grow into an impressive cog in the machine under manager Marco Silva.
However, the second of those fixtures – against Watford – would prove to be his last appearances for the Toffees for over a year, undergoing surgery on a hamstring injury that was expected to rule him out for several months, however, he would not play again that season.
The following campaign yielded similarly rotten fruits, with 11 minutes of action off the bench against Crystal Palace all the 27-year-old had to build on from his fleeting presence at the start of life with the club, shackled by incessant setbacks that all but eradicated any chance of building form and fluidity for his outfit.
Gbamin would make just five more displays across the past two campaigns, loaned out twice to Russia and Turkey after “struggling” to impress – as was said by pundit Jamie Carragher.
When considering the maximum that the 6 foot 1 dud cost the club was spread across just eight competitive games, Gbamin potentially cost owner Farhad Moshiri £4m per appearance.
While Gbamin's hopes of succeeding in Everton blue were simply ravaged by his terrible luck on the injury front, there is no escaping the fact that for such a tall fee and high wages, he has bled the club dry over the past several years.
The termination of his contract says it all, it's one that the club will just hope to bury and forget now as they aim to avoid yet another relegation battle.