In July 2013 Antolín Alcaraz became Everton’s first-ever Paraguayan player, when he joined new manager Roberto Martinez in making the short journey from Wigan to Goodison Park.

At Wigan, Alcaraz had been a key figure in their defence and played an instrumental role in their 1-0 shock victory over Manchester City in the 2013 FA Cup Final. Alas, at Goodison, he gained a reputation for defensive erraticism and never made a first team shirt his own.

Born in July 1982, in San Roque González, Paraguay, Alcaraz began his career as an amateur with Teniente Fariña, combining a day job as a bricklayer with time on the pitch.

Aged 18 he was scouted by Racing Club in Argentina, one of the country’s great clubs, but the move was ill-fated and his time there was undermined by the club’s insolvency. He joined Fiorentina in Serie A in 2002, but then the unthinkable happened: the Florentines went bankrupt too.

Finally, a year later Alcaraz’s luck changed when he joined Beira-Mar, then competing in Portugal’s top-flight. The move changed his career. He established himself in the first team and became an important part of the team. In 2007 he joined Belgium’s Club Brugge, where he was a mainstay of a team that regularly challenged for the league title. Alcaraz’s performances caught the eye of Premier League clubs, and in 2010 he signed for Wigan Athletic.

Following his success at Wigan, and with manager Roberto Martínez taking the helm at Everton, Alcaraz was brought to Goodison Park on a free transfer in July 2013.

Alcaraz’s time at Goodison, however, was a period marked by struggles and underwhelming performances. Indeed his tenure at the club is best remembered for his inconsistency, frequent injuries and a series of poor displays that left fans questioning his suitability for the Premier League.

He did not make his Premier League debut for Everton until December 2013 and although he showed glimpses of his abilities as a ball-playing centre-back in his early appearances, injuries quickly derailed his progress. His sporadic availability meant that he could never fully integrate into the team or develop a strong partnership with Everton’s defensive stalwarts, Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin, while the emergence of John Stones effectively made him fourth choice in the position.

Alcaraz’s time at Everton reached its nadir during the club’s Europa League Round of 16 match against Dynamo Kiev in the 2014/15 season. With Everton holding a slender 2-1 lead from the first leg, Alcaraz was tasked with helping the team secure passage to the quarter-finals. However, the match turned into a disaster for both Alcaraz and Everton. The Paraguayan defender was at fault for several goals as Dynamo Kiev ran riot, eventually winning 5-2 and knocking Everton out of the competition 6-4 on aggregate. His catastrophic performance that night epitomized his struggles at Everton – positionally lost, slow to react, and lacking the physicality required to compete at the highest level.

This was his final act as an Everton player and he was released at the end of the season. There followed a spell with Las Palmas in LaLiga, but injury haunted his time in Spain and he was released midway through his contract. Now in his mid-thirties, he returned to Paraguay where he played out his career until his forties, winning a succession of national championships with Club Olimpia.