Everton have made a big £30m transfer mistake which is clearly costing them dearly

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Ever since Kevin Thelwell came in at Everton, the club have made great strides towards achieving more stability and sustainability.

The former Wolverhampton Wanderers director of football was handed a near-impossible task in attempting to steady a ship that was half underwater, but his efforts in offloading top talent for hefty fees, cutting the wage bill dramatically and investing wisely in cheaper players have been emphatic.

To maintain a squad strong enough to still be fighting for Premier League survival after being forced to sell Richarlison, Anthony Gordon and Alex Iwobi is an indicator of his talents.

However, not all of his transfers have been hits, with some proving to be blunders that they could not really afford to make.

The biggest of them all is set to rear its ugly head this summer after kicking the can down the road for so long.

Everton have a big transfer obligation this summer

Seeking to balance the books, signings that Everton have made under Thelwell have either had to be for tiny fees, or in instalments.

The latter has proven an intelligent method of deferring costs into the next financial year, to offer them some much-needed wiggle room to continue bolstering a threadbare squad.

However, in buying Beto last summer, they have perhaps doomed the club to another fiscal nightmare.

After all, the Portuguese forward has hardly set the world alight on the pitch, and rather worryingly, his £30m fee is one which they will have to front this coming summer.

That obligation comes at a terrible time for the Toffees, who are already battling the first of two alleged financial breaches which have already resulted in a ten-point deduction.

Beto and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are both struggling

Brought in as a foil for the injury-prone Dominic Calvert-Lewin, it is quite ironic the speed with which the Englishman has returned to fitness since they finally caved and got a striker.

And whilst it must be appreciated how the presence of another experienced forward has afforded him that time to recover properly, neither is performing at the level needed to distance themselves from the drop zone.

Calvert-Lewin remains the Premier League’s worst finisher this season statistically, whilst his 26-year-old teammate continues to look awkward and clunky off the bench.

His three goals across 28 games in all competitions is a figure diluted by his numerous substitute appearances, but he is clearly not doing enough to usurp a striker who has not scored in 19 games now.

The two aren’t pushing each other to improve, and it feels like a battle of who would rather not play than staking a claim to start.

Hopefully Beto can start banging in some goals late in this season to justify his upcoming fee, or else Thelwell will be left ruing his transfer gamble which would cost them dearly.