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Romelu Lukaku signed for Everton on a permanent deal 12 years ago today, joining from Chelsea for £28m — a club-record fee at the time.
The move followed a loan season that had already won supporters over. Lukaku scored 16 goals in 33 appearances during that spell, helping Everton finish fifth in the Premier League.
Roberto Martinez described the permanent deal as one of the most significant days in the club’s history. Lukaku, 21 at the time, said Goodison was where he belonged.
He went on to score 87 goals in 166 appearances across two spells at the club, becoming Everton’s record Premier League goalscorer. He was a physical presence up front, strong enough to bully defenders and still finish with finesse.
Happy times.
Three years after signing permanently, Lukaku left for Manchester United in a £75m deal, then a record fee between two British clubs. Inter Milan followed, along with a Serie A title, before a big-money return to Chelsea that didn’t work out.
Everton haven’t had a striker of that ilk since. The position has been unsettled for years, with no single player taking hold of the shirt the way Lukaku did in those three seasons.
Watching the club search for goals up front now, it’s easy to look back at that spell as the last time Everton had an element of certainty in attack.
Twelve years on, the club’s own anniversary post asked fans for their favourite Lukaku memory.
For most, the answer probably comes down to something simpler: he was Everton’s, and then he wasn’t.
More’s the pity.