West Ham landed Issa Diop and Southampton signed Jannick Vestergaard, two players who Everton were linked with.
It was pretty obvious where Everton needed to strengthen at the start of the transfer window.
The Toffees were so very poor at the back last season and a powerful, commanding centre-back should have been the top priority – particularly now Ramiro Funes-Mori has gone and Ashley Williams is expected to follow.
But Everton have still not added to their defensive ranks. In the meantime, however, two defenders who would have ticked a lot of boxes are signing contracts at their Premier League rivals.
The Mirror claimed in June that Everton were interested in Issa Diop, the talented French centre-back who had been scouted by Barcelona and was captain of Toulouse at 21. Instead, however, West Ham broke their transfer record to sign him for £25 million.
And just days after making a bid for the giant Borussia Monchengladbach defender Jannick Vestergaard (ESPN), he has signed for Southampton instead for £18 million.
The 6ft 5ins Danish international would have been an excellent addition at either end of the pitch. Vestergaard is one of the top scoring centre-backs in Europe, netting seven times in two seasons since joining Gladbach from Werder Bremen, not to mention a fearsome prospect for opposition strikers.
Everton were linked with both and, should Diop and Vestergaard impress at their new clubs, The Toffees’ failure to bring them to Goodison Park would look like huge opportunity wasted.
And with the agent of Barcelona defender Yerry Mina playing down reports of an impending move to Goodison Park, is history about to repeat itself?
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