Everton are a club steeped in rich tradition, and as such are one of England's most historic and successful clubs of all time.
However, things have not been easy for the Toffees of late, who saw the initial promise of Farhad Moshiri's investment swiftly devolve into a Financial Fair Play crisis, with numerous clubs baying for their blood as they seek compensation for the relegation they suffered, and that the Merseyside outfit continue to avoid.
The last two Premier League campaigns have been some of the most painful, anxiety-inducing years in their 144-year history, with a dramatic comeback against Crystal Palace first saving them, before a narrow 1-0 win on the final day of last season seeing them come as close as they ever have been to the drop.
This is something Sean Dyche will be absolutely desperate to avoid in the new term, having admitted that such a period took a true toll on the former Burnley man: "Certainly last season was by the far the hardest in my football life, you can’t tell every story but what we were having to sort out inside, trying to win games, all the speculation, all the noise, going down to the last game of the season, injuries, everything that could go wrong, going wrong.
“Very, very difficult to manage, to bring that all together and still get a team out there and win enough games as it happens which we did do. "
With a number of tricky fixtures coming up, the 52-year-old tactician will be desperate to navigate them carefully to ensure they do not find themselves floundering in the relegation zone before the busy Christmas schedule starts.
Who is Everton's worst-ever signing?
Dyche walked into a poisonous atmosphere at Goodison Park, with Frank Lampard's dismissal coming roughly a year after he had succeeded the doomed tenure of Rafa Benitez.
The Spaniard set the club back years, and it was ultimately his tenure that plunged them into the relegation battlers they remain today. However, the failures within Everton ran much deeper than the former Liverpool man, and stretch back to Moshiri's 2016 acquisition of a 49.9% stake.
Promising to inject his fortune into the club, many thought that the Iranian billionaire would mark the new lease of life they had been craving after years of slugging it out under a financial curtain with David Moyes. However, fans seemingly never knew how good they had it with the Scotsman.
Although most will rush to lambast Benitez for what he did to the Toffees, it could be argued that it was Ronald Koeman who truly set the parts in motion for a thoroughly unsuccessful few years, marred further by his thoughtless transfers.
Whilst the likes of Yannick Bolasie, Gylfi Sigurðsson, Davy Klaasen and more might stand out as the club's worst piece of recent business, Michael Keane is one flop who perhaps goes under the radar due to his ability to slip into the background, quietly draining the club of huge funds and struggling whenever he is entrusted with game time.
The 30-year-old marked a huge acquisition during the 2017 summer of revolution and has gone on to feature 205 times since that switch. However, it has been far from a profitable venture, with the defender routinely struggling. Last season saw him make just ten league starts, and yet he still managed to concede two penalties and make one error leading to a shot.
The year before then saw him make two errors directly resulting in goals for the opposition.
The quintessential confidence player, he has struggled to cope in the high-pressure environment that their recent relegation troubles have cultivated. As such, he was even lambasted by pundit Trevor Sinclair, who told talkSPORT’s breakfast show [8:25, April 4th 2022] that he was a "liability".
Such a notion has pretty much summed up Keane's time on Merseyside, and yet he remains within the squad, one of the numerous pieces of dead wood they have been unable to shift over the years. However, his persistence to stick around makes him stand out among the other failures, and thus builds a strong case for him being their worst-ever acquisition in recent memory.
How much did Everton pay for Micheal Keane?
Whilst the defender's performances on the pitch alone would make his move a failed one, the money invested only exacerbates what has been a truly terrible deal.
2017 marked a huge summer for Koeman, who had just led his team into Europe in their first season under his leadership. He had earned a spending spree, but few could have predicted that he would waste such vast amounts of money on so many duds.
The Dutchman would make two club-record fee deals in one window, the first being Keane for a cool £30m sum. That was later blown out of the water by Sigurdsson, who would cost a further £45m. Other key names who joined were Wayne Rooney, Jordan Pickford and Sandro Ramirez, all of whom enjoyed hugely fluctuating success.
How much is Micheal Keane worth now?
To make matters worse, those consistently underwhelming displays have unsurprisingly contributed to a sharp decrease in value, with the miserable figure only set to continue dwindling as his contract lessens and his influence becomes next to nothing.
2022
€16m (£14m)
71% decrease
2021
€28m (£24m)
41% increase
2020
€20m (£17m)
53% decrease
2019
€30m (£26m)
53% increase
2018
€20m (£17m)
N/A
Valuations via Transfermarkt.
As such, CIES Football Observatory offers their findings on such a matter, suggesting the former Burnley dud is now worth a mere €5m (£4m). This suggests that, across the six years spent at Goodison Park, Keane has seen his value drop by £26m and counting.
Such a figure is almost certain to continue tumbling, with just two years left on his current deal.
How much does Micheal Keane earn?
To mirror such a huge price tag, an equally lofty salary was always bound to come alongside it.
As such, however, the combined fee of both transfer and wages that Keane has drained from Everton grows to a truly mouth-watering figure, made even worse given the lack of return his performances have offered.
After all, sitting on an £80k-per-week salary for those six years was bound to accumulate further debt, even if it only rose from £60k-per-week following his ludicrous 2020 contract extension. To add his £30m fee with the £21.84m wages, and in total, the bumbling defender has snagged £51.84m from the Toffees.