As exciting a late dash to sign Josh King was for Everton, much of the focus during their January transfer window appeared to be on getting players out. 

By the close of play on February 1st, Carlo Ancelotti had allowed Cenk Tosun, Anthony Gordon, Jonjoe Kenny, Yannick Bolasie, Jonas Lossl and Jarrad Branthwaite leave his first-team set-up, surely doing wonders for the club's wage bill. 

According to The Athletic, there was very nearly another who joined that list of departures. 

They claim Bernard only stayed at Goodison Park after failing to agree personal terms over a move to Dubai-based outfit Al-Nasr. 

Within the article, the Brazilian is name-checked by Ancelotti as someone available to him so it does appear as if he will remain under consideration, despite the fact King's arrival has only increased competition for places. 

Handed only 271 minutes of Premier League action this season, the £13.5m-rated (Transfermarkt) South American would appear to have quite the job on his hands if he's going to force himself onto first-team proceedings given both King and Richarlison are able to operate in his position. 

GIVEMESPORT's Jonathan Gorrie says...

It is a shame for Everton that they weren't able to shift another big contract. 

Indeed, previous reports have claimed the 28-year-old is earning up to £120k-per-week on Merseyside, contributing very little. Over the course of 77 games, he has directly contributed to just 14 goals, and only one season has seen him average over one key pass per game. 

That was back during the 2018/19 campaign (via WhoScored) and, at Everton, the likes of Lucas Digne, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Richarlison have all outperformed him in that respect. 

With that in mind, it's fairly obvious to see that Everton aren't simply aren't getting value for money. Big wages are not leading to big results, so passing that financial burden onto someone else would have been a helpful outcome. 

Hopefully in the summer, another resolution can be found.