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Romelu Lukaku has weaved himself into Everton’s rich tapestry.

During a period when the cloth has both flourished and frayed at Goodison, the Belgian has been one of the club’s most consistent figures.

When tilting towards the Champions League under Roberto Martinez, he was up front, scoring goals.

In the subsequent two seasons of struggle under the Catalan, the campaigns of inconsistency and frustration, Lukaku was often a sure thing in front of goal.

Then, with Ronald Koeman at the helm and a revolution in its infancy both on and off the pitch, he found the back of the net, as is his job; 26 times in total, in fact, to take him to 87 in just four seasons.

Death, taxes, moaning about Arouna Kone and Romelu Lukaku scoring. Those are the laws upon which Evertonians have lived since 2013.

His imminent departure, expected to be confirmed over the next 72 hours, feels like the final chapter of this particular tale. In a sense, it is.

But rather than being considered the end, it should be regarded as a new beginning for Everton and Koeman.

The Blues will undoubtedly miss Lukaku; his goals, his presence, his swagger. For four years, they have housed one of the finest young strikers in Europe, a potential world class talent.

What won’t be missed are the rumours and whisperings behind closed palms; the endless discussions over what Everton will do when he departs, or how the forward line will look in his absence.

No longer will Mino Raiola be a name of much concern to the Blues; the Blues will no longer be concerned with international breaks and those relaxed mixed zones, often the setting for Lukaku’s soliloquies on his future.

This is not to disparage the departing 24-year-old but accept the baggage and questions that came with him, albeit his brilliance outweighs such issues.

With Lukaku heading out of Goodison, focus can fall on the players who will be on Merseyside for the foreseeable future. Planning can now begin in earnest.

Hard to believe given he notched 26 goals in Koeman’s maiden campaign at the club, but he is not necessarily the sort of striker the Dutchman usually deploys in his side. Such was the quality of the player, the manager had little choice.

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Lukaku is the sort of player to build a side around. Getting the best out of Lukaku would get the best out of Everton.

This summer’s transfer activity has already shifted towards a change in philosophy. The starting 11, and the squad, is going to be much stronger collectively. Sandro scored 14 goals for Malaga last season and might not manage another 12 to meet Lukaku’s tally, but he will be supplemented by Davy Klaassen, with Everton expecting Wayne Rooney, and hoping Gylfi Sigurdsson, can join him.

Jordan Pickford and Michael Keane have been acquired to strengthen the defence, the pair of them both young and robust.

There will be more additions, at both ends of the field, with the windfall from Lukaku’s sale only furthering their financial clout in this transfer market.

With the help of Steve Walsh, Koeman has started shaping a team in his vision. As good as Lukaku was, and will be, he served to cloud that somewhat.

A seventh placed finish, with 61 points, is an impressive haul for Koeman’s first year at the club. That tally becomes even better when considering how he didn’t shape that side, but inherited it.

Of the 11 who started against Tottenham in Koeman’s first game at the helm, it is hard to envision more than three or four being involved against Stoke next month – and that’s even allowing for Lukaku’s absence on that afternoon due to injury.

Things will be different next season when Koeman unleashes his new-look side on to the Premier League. There will be no Lukaku, but no need to panic; this is the moment Koeman, Walsh and Farhad Moshiri’s Everton can truly begin to take off.