Everton find themselves hovering close to the relegation zone year after year and on the evidence of this campaign so far, face another battle to avoid falling through the trap door.
Initially, it looked as though the Toffees had turned a corner after posting an impressive 3-1 victory over Brentford, but their woes soon returned as Luton Town condemned Sean Dyche's side to an embarrassing 2-1 loss on Saturday afternoon.
Everton's rapid decline has boiled down to the lack of forward direction at the top of the football club and the board's inept decision-making has trickled into their transfer dealings.
Players such as Jean-Philippe Gbamin, Andre Gomes and Davy Klaasen – who arrived for huge fees and provided very little value – have epitomised their struggles in the market.
A similar trend played out in the summer of 2016 as the Toffees brought in Yannick Bolasie, Morgan Schneiderlin and Ashley Williams for a combined £56m (€65.5m).
While that trio massively underwhelmed at Goodison Park, Everton did unearth two hidden gems that summer who have gone on to become solid signings. One was Idrissa Gueye, who joined from Aston Villa for £7.1m, and the other was Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
How much did Dominic Calvert-Lewin cost Everton?
After finishing in 11th place in the 2015/16 season, newly appointed manager Ronald Koeman was given the funds to bolster his squad and lead them on a charge towards Europe.
The Dutchman kept most of his shopping on English shores and one of those deals saw him unearth Dominic Calvert-Lewin from League One side Sheffield United for a reported fee of £1.5m.
At the time, the England U20 international was a relatively unknown prospect after spending the second half of that season on loan at Northampton Town, scoring five times in 20 appearances.
Although those returns were uninspiring, the 19-year-old would soon prove to be a shrewd signing for the club, becoming the prolific striker that the Toffees were crying out for.
How much is Calvert-Lewin worth now?
According to Football Transfers, Calvert-Lewin's expected transfer value sits at £9m (€10.5m) – a 500% increase to their initial outlay of £1.5m – although the 27-year-old was once worth far more than that figure, however, his stock has taken a dramatic tumble following a series of injuries. Indeed, as recently as 2020, he was reportedly being valued by his club at a staggering £80m.
Cast your eyes back to 2017 – Calvert-Lewin had just helped spearhead the England U20's to a World Cup triumph, scoring the winner in the final, and the 21-year-old was ready to replace their departing talisman, Romelu Lukaku, who joined Manchester United that summer for £75m.
Speaking about filling the void left behind by the Belgian, the Englishman said: "With Rom leaving I knew there was going to be an opportunity for me to get more game time in my preferred position.”
Calvert-Lewin wouldn't get a chance to lead the line under Koeman, who instead stationed him out wide to find space for his newly assembled playmakers; namely Wayne Rooney, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Davy Klaasen.
With Koeman unable to find the right formula and Everton finding themselves in the bottom three, the Dutchman was sacked, and this moment proved to be the turning point in the striker's career.
How many goals has Calvert-Lewin scored?
While his goal-scoring exploits wouldn't take off in the 2017/18 or 2018/19 season, only netting ten times in the league, Calvert-Lewin became a phenomenon as the focal point in Everton's attack in the two that followed as the 6 foot 2 marksman hauled an impressive 13 goals in 2019/20 and 16 in 2020/21.
He drew plaudits from manager Carlo Ancelotti for scoring 21 goals in all competitions during the 2020/21 campaign with the Italian labelling him as a "top striker".
On the back of that monstrous season for the prolific forward, Arsenal, Newcastle and Manchester United all registered an interest in Calvert-Lewin but Everton were only willing to sell him for a very high price as his expected transfer value rose to £33m (€39m), according to Football Transfers.
Since then, however, Calvert-Lewin's career has gone on a downward spiral and so has Everton's, speaking volumes about how crucial the £100k per-week sharpshooter was to their success.
With the 27-year-old restricted to game time due to injuries, only featuring 34 times in the Premier League across the past two seasons, the former Sheffield United academy graduate has spent most of his time watching on from the stands, but now he's back and ready to help Dyche's side in their battle to avoid the drop.
Calvert-Lewin has scored twice in four appearances this term and has shown signs of the form that saw him once get labelled as an "exceptional footballer" by reporter Pete Graves.