Everton have had many in-comings and outgoings over the last few seasons with both their playing and coaching staff, with some additions becoming flops and others becoming 'cult heroes' among the Everton fan base.
The Toffees haven't had the best of times lately and currently find themselves in 17th place, just one point outside of the relegation zone.
Granted, the fact that Sean Dyche's side have had a ten point deduction thrown their way this season needs to be taken into account. However, it feels as if the Toffees should have done much better than what they have done.
One of the key reasons why they only find themselves just outside of the drop zone is the fact that they are the third-lowest scoring team within England's top flight.
To rub even more salt in the wounds of the Toffees, Neal Maupay, a striker whom they loaned to Brentford at the start of the season, has only been involved in one less goal than that of their main strikers, Beto and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
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These figures will undoubtedly be frustrating for Dyche as he was the one who sanctioned the move. In the past, Everton have had some elite-level strikers with the likes of Wayne Rooney, Tim Cahill and even Samuel Eto'o all plying their trade for the club at different points. They notably had immense success away from Goodison but there is another who perhaps isn't so elite now shining elsewhere; Salomon Rondon.
Salomon Rondon's career before joining Everton
After joining the Toffees on a free transfer in the summer of 2021 from Chinese club, Dalian Professional, he was reunited with his former manager for a third time after the pair were both at Newcastle and Dalian Professional at the same time.
There was a lot of anticipation around his signing, as, with his previous two stints in England, the Venezuelan produced some solid numbers.
Whilst with his first English club, West Brom, whom he joined for a fee of £12m, he stayed at the club from 2015/16 until the 2017/18 season.
During his time representing the Baggies, he played a total of 120 games and amassed 38 goal contributions with 20 of those coming as his goals. This return sparked the interest of Newcastle's Benitez who made the Venezuela international his number one target.
He then later joined the Magpies on a season-long loan, which resulted in Dwight Gayle being loaned to West Brom in return.
Speaking on his arrival at Newcastle, Rondon said the following: "It's one of the biggest clubs in the Premier League and I knew about the interest of the gaffer, so I'm happy to be here."
Then manager, Benitez, also weighed in on the addition of Rondon to his squad. "I am delighted to sign Salomón," he said.
"When we were looking for options up front, we knew how important experience would be. Salomón has been in the Premier League for a while, and he knows how demanding it is. He, together with Yoshinori Muto, will give us different options and will improve the competition between the strikers, which is always positive for the team."
Despite appearing a total of 33 times for the Magpies and managing to contribute to 19 goals, Newcastle rejected the chance to sign the forward permanently.
That is despite being the first forward since Alan Shearer in 2003 to win Newcastle's 2019 Player of the Year award.
At the time, many thought this was a mistake on Mike Ashley's behalf as, in the same season, Rafa Benitez also left the Tyneside club.
Rondon has since spoken about his Newcastle departure. "It was a beautiful year for me. I loved it because the supporters were behind me all the time," he said via Goal.
"I enjoyed playing with the number 9 shirt, I scored goals and the atmosphere at St James’ Park was amazing. Always, I will remember that season. Was I disappointed to leave? Yes, because I was waiting for something. I was waiting for Rafa."
However, it wasn't long before the pair were reunited in China where Rondon spent just a year.
It was after his stint in China, where he managed a total of 14 goals, that sparked the interest of Everton and Benitez.
Rondon's time at Everton in numbers
You guessed it, the then 31-year-old was brought back to the Premier League thanks to Benitez, who was the manager of Everton at the time.
However, his stint with the Toffees didn't go as swimmingly as his previous campaign in England did for Newcastle.
During the two seasons in which the stocky forward represented the blue of Everton, he only amassed a total of 31 appearances and managed to only be involved in four goals.
This was a major fall from grace for the former Newcastle Player of the Year and was the main reasoning behind why, during his time with Everton, he was branded a flop.
His time with the Toffees was held in that bad a regard that his contract was terminated. This termination was in aid of the Venezuelan seeking more playing minutes after being isolated from the squad by then manager, Frank Lampard.
What happened to Rondon after Everton
Following his termination, Rondon found himself in Argentina, representing River Plate. He had initially signed a two-year deal which would've kept him at the club until December 2025.
However, much like his Everton stint, he left the squad less than 12 months into his contract. Despite being at River for less than a year, he managed to re-find his form somewhat and garnered a total of 35 appearances whilst bagging ten goals.
Indeed, this isn't the greatest of returns, however, it's an awful lot more than what he managed to do with Everton.
Now in the 2023/24 season, the 34-year-old has found himself plying his trade in Mexico's top league for CF Pachuca.
Since his arrival in Mexico, it feels as if he has once again found his goal-scoring form which he showed whilst playing for Newcastle.
In just nine games, he has managed a total of seven goal contributions which is more than that of Calvert-Lewin and Beto individually.
Although Rondon has had quite a roller-coaster of a career, it feels as if he has now found somewhere where he can live out his twilight years.