When the ball crashed off the underside of the crossbar before hitting the back of the Anfield net the groans around Liverpool would, to some degree, have come from both halves of the city's football fanbase.
There was an inevitability about Mohammed Kudus shining for Ajax against Liverpool in the Champions League on Tuesday night. Of course the player who was so close to moving to Everton just weeks ago would showcase his ability in such style. It was a frustrating glimpse of what could have been for the Blues, who even with the evident progress of this season so far could have done with such a ruthless finisher against the likes of Chelsea, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.
Frank Lampard does not *need* to win against West Ham United this weekend, but Kudus' five goals in eight league and Champions League games for Ajax suggest that, had the deal got over the line, Everton may already have secured a first victory of the season.
READ MORE: Kevin Thelwell's Everton transfer plan clear after four signings, two targets and one blocked sale
READ MORE: Frank Lampard drops Dominic Calvert-Lewin fitness hint and shares Everton expectation
Twenty fours later, and again in Europe's elite club competition, it was another Blues summer target hitting the headlines in Mykhaylo Mudryk. The 21-year-old scored against Celtic to give him two goals and two assists from Shakhtar Donetsk's two Champions League group stage games this campaign.
Following the 1-1 draw the Ukrainian club's sporting director Darijo Srna confirmed they rejected a £26m bid from Everton for the winger in the final stages of the transfer window, explaining: “We received an offer of €30m [from Everton]. And when our president doesn’t sell a player for €30m, especially in such difficult times, he is sending a message to everyone that he wants to progress in the Champions League and to win the championship. Mudryk is a serious talent. After Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr, he’s the best player in Europe in his position. If someone wants to buy Mudryk they must spend a lot, a lot, a lot of money and respect our club and our president.”
It is easy to look back at those efforts and lament what could have been - particularly as both have started the season in such a fashion that their value is likely to have soared and interest in their talent increased. An alternative approach is to take the positives - which is that it looks like Everton's scouting network is identifying some of Europe's top talent while it remains under the radar. Few supporters would have heard of of Kudus or Mudryk before they were linked with the Blues, but director of football Kevin Thelwell and his team had not only spotted their talent, they were making moves off the back of their homework. In Kudus it appears to have been only Manchester United's late summer desperation to land his teammate Antony - and Ajax's reluctance to lose two attacking players so close to the start of the new season - that thwarted Thelwell and co.
One deal in which Everton were not to be stopped, but which further highlights the good work being done, is that achieved for Amadou Onana. The 21-year-old had captained Belgium Under-21s and earned a senior call up so he was not, as such, plucked from the unknown. But he was another player few others seemed to be willing to make a serious offer for. While he is new to the Premier League and his talent still raw, his opening games - including his impressive and mature display in what was a frantic Merseyside derby earlier this month - suggest Thelwell may have been justified when, upon securing Onana, he said: "He is one of the most sought-after young midfielders in Europe for a reason and has many attributes to benefit our squad. We are confident he can be a popular player with Evertonians for many years to come."
And then there is James Garner - another midfielder who has captained youth sides and signed in a deadline day deal from Manchester United. Of him, Thelwell said: “He is a young, hungry player and we are confident he can be a great addition for many years to come." It is only fair to point out that some of this good work pre-dates the arrivals of Thelwell and Frank Lampard - the January signings Vitalii Mykolenko (aged 23) and Nathan Patterson (20) have both enjoyed promising starts to their Everton careers. But all of this is a far cry from the ill-conceived excess that initially characterised Everton's transfer windows under majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri, when hundreds of millions of pounds were spent on players for the present, rather than with a long-term view that could have survived changes in managers and directors of football. This summer, Everton got some deals over the line, and just missed out on others, but everything suggests they were looking in the right places as the club attempts to build for the future.
READ NEXT
- James Vaughan highlights Lewis Warrington as he explains new Everton role
-
Mohammed Kudus remains on Everton 'radar' but could be priced out of transfer from Ajax
-
Alex Iwobi addresses Everton fan favourite tag and drops new contract hint
-
Kevin Thelwell makes latest big change to Everton coaching structure
-
Everton signing Eldin Jakupovic and his four-year football absence explained
