There was a time when Everton liked to scour Belgium for some players, bringing them to the Premier League and giving them a bigger platform to express themselves on.
Marouane Fellaini is perhaps up there with their better purchases, while Kevin Mirallas is on the other end of the scale, somewhat outstaying his welcome by the end of it.
One that could have been but never was happens to be one of their international teammates, Axel Witsel.
For a long time, alongside the likes of Juan Roman Riquelme, the midfielder was linked with a move to Goodison Park back when he was at Standard Liège, the same club Fellaini was purchased from.
However, instead of heading to Everton, the player decided it was better for his career to move to Portugal, more precisely with Benfica.
That’s according to Witsel himself, who revealed the snub in an interview with La Meuse on Thursday, as both of his former sides prepare to clash in the Europa League.
“I’d signed a five year contract that offered me the chance to go up a level before going to a top club. After that, I didn’t go to Real Madrid because there are, in the end, parameters that mean you sometimes take a different route to the one you imagined at the start”.
Instead of spending five years in Portugal, the proud owner of 110 caps for Belgium spent just the one, heading to Zenit St Petersburg 12 months later where he played for four and a half years before moves to TJ Quanjian and Borussia Dortmund, where he still features.
His path, as he said, could have been different, and we now know for certain it could have taken him to Everton had he wanted it to.
