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

3. Closing The Gap On The Top Four

The £28million signing of Romelu Lukaku signals their intent on closing down the top four teams of the Premier League. Most importantly, by not allowing Lukaku to remain at Chelsea or halting any chance of Barkley signing for a club such as Manchester City, Everton would have seen the gap between them and the other "Top Four" clubs grow significantly. Again, this signals Everton's growth as a club who has learnt from their past mistakes by keeping hold of their key players rather than selling them off to other Premier League rivals. After all, it's extremely rare that you see the top teams of the Premier League letting their best players join other top clubs. Now by retaining the services of both Barkley and Lukaku, Everton can begin their challenge of a top four place and can begin contending with clubs such as City and Chelsea, rather than looking back on Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle and battling for high-mid table obscurity.