I think one thing people get lost in is thinking this player here, or that player there are most important to our success. In reality, whether Lukaku goes or stays is almost completely meaningless to the longterm success of Everton compared to the really important things. Three things will contribute to 95% of the success of the club. 1. The manager, as he it is who decides who players where, when, and with what tactics. Weve seen how a bad manager can ruin good players. 2. A DoF, who is good at his job, can not only earn the club 50 million per year, but ensure there are far fewer duds on big name signings. 3. The Owner is the one who ultimately will generate revenue for the club. A wise businessman can turn shrewd deals financially, that put more revenue in the pockets of the manager and DoF.
If we earn an extra 20 mill per year, we can put that into wages. With those higher wages we can put out a better product, and get more support, and thus turn around and negotiate better business deals, and repeat. An owner who knows what he is doing can just by his wisdom put together deals that give this club the finances to compete with the top 4 regardless of what players we keep or sell. This window shows more than anything that money talks, and theres only so much money you can earn from gate receipts. The real top clubs in the world are so PURELY because they generate enough income outside of that.