Everton reportedly wanted to pay £10m for striker who has scored once in two years

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It has been more than five years since Everton suffered one of the most disastrous European results in their history.

At the time, a 5-1 humbling away at Dinamo Kiev felt like nothing short of humiliation for a Toffees side starting to unravel under Roberto Martinez.

In hindsight, perhaps the defeat wasn’t quite as embarrassing as it first appeared. In Aleksandar Dragovic, Andriy Yarmolenko and Vitorino Antunes, a talented Dinamo side boasted a number of players who have gone on to shine in Europe’s major leagues.

The same, however, can’t be said of a striker who tore Everton’s defence apart in March 2015 with a performance his opposite number, Romelu Lukaku, would have been proud of.

Lukasz Teodorczyk scored Dinamo’s second of the night and bullied the experienced Phil Jagielka throughout, putting his impressive leap and burly 6ft 1in frame to excellent use.

Clearly, Teodorczyk made a lasting impression on Everton. After he hit a career-best 30 goals in a stunning season for Anderlecht in 2016/17 the Toffees tried to sign him for a cool £10 million.

So did Liverpool and Sevilla, according to the Mirror.

But the mere mention of summer 2017 will have Everton fans waking up in a cold sweat. During that infamous transfer window, the Merseyside giants splurged more than £120 million on signings including Davy Klaassen, Henry Onyekuru and Sandro Ramirez.

Coach Ronald Koeman and director of football Steve Walsh would pay with their jobs soon after.

Walsh, however, might have gone a little earlier had Teodorczyk arrived as well. The Pole did get his big break in 2018 but, clearly, couldn’t cut it at a higher level.

In 32 games at Serie A outfit Udinese he scored just one, single goal. In fact, that strike against Chievo Verona on 17 February 2019 remains the last time he has found the net in club football.

Teodorczyk returned to Belgium in October, joining Charleroi in an attempt to recapture the remarkable form he displayed at Anderlecht.

So if you were wondering why Everton never returned for a man who tore them apart five years ago, now you know.