Everton: 10 Reasons Lukaku And Barkley Are Best Signings Of 2014

Roberto Martinez has pulled off a double masterstroke...

It was a season to remember for Everton fans as the curtains fell in the middle of May; they had made a huge return to European finishing fifth under the reign former Wigan boss Roberto Martinez. Now, three months later, the Spaniard has been tasked with doing it all over again as the new Premier League season draws ever closer. It's the perfect time for Martinez to introduce some new faces into the squad to possibly challenge for a top four position, and he's just done so with considerable aplomb. But stability is also a key pointer in building for success, and Martinez has been smart in his dealings this summer, completing a deal to bring Gareth Barry - a key player last season - to Merseyside permanently, adding defensive steel in Muhamed Besic and ensuring that two of his most important attackers last year remained with him. First he convinced highly-rated and much-wanted midfielder Ross Barkley to turn down overtures from Man City and sign a new long-term deal, and then, in one of the coups of the summer, he brought Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku in from his near-exile at Chelsea for £28m. These two signings could be signalling the beginning of Everton developing as one of the best football clubs in England as they seem to be able to retain the services of their best players rather than sell them off, aside from Marouane Fellaini, and that now looks to have been a smart move. Lukaku and Barkley were among Everton's best performers from last season, and there's a lot of evidence to suggest that the deals attaching them to Everton in the long-term are some of the best of the year so far...
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Journalism and English graduate from Northumbria University. Now a freelance sports journalist. Nottingham Forest fan. Owner of beard.