A player who almost signed for Everton during summer talks has been compared to Diego Maradona.

Everton faced a difficult summer in which Kevin Thelwell was kept extremely busy in an attempt to bolster a depleted squad.

After seeing his side struggle to survive in consecutive seasons, the former Wolverhampton Wanderers sporting director set about adding to their squad on a budget.

Despite having to sell what many considered to be one of their primary assets, Alex Iwobi, they are now clearly at a level well beyond anything seen in recent seasons.

Beto, Jack Harrison, and Ashley Young have all made significant contributions, and there could have been more if the funds had been available and Sean Dyche had mandated it.

One such story that persisted was the prospective return of Ross Barkley, who was a free agent after being released by OGC Nice.

Despite reports in 2022 that they were in ‘advanced talks’ to sign him, it was Luton Town who chose to take a chance on him.

How good is Ross Barkley, a former Everton player, this season?

Well, the bet appears to be paying off, with former Everton star Andros Townsend remarking to talkSPORT about his new teammate’s performances: ‘It’s just remarkable – the calmness, the ability to get the ball off the back four and thump it past some of the world’s top midfielders without batting an eyelid.

‘As we saw yesterday against Manchester City, Maradona was in the midfield setting up our goal – it’s been a joy to watch.

‘In a way, he’s given the rest of the players around him, including myself, confidence. It’s an undervalued skill to be able to take the ball under pressure.

‘He’s been simply wonderful, and he’s been a joy not only to play with, but also to watch.’

According to Sofascore, Barkley has scored once in his eight Premier League starts while also averaging 0.8 crucial passes and 6.4 ball recoveries per game, as well as an 81% pass accuracy.

With the quality to compete with the World Cup-winning icon, it appears that Everton made a mistake with their former star this summer.