Gerard Deulofeu will officially join Everton on July 1 two years after first arriving on loan (Picture: AP Photo)

Everton have not only landed a coup in the permanent capture of Gerard Deulofeu, they have also completed a talented hat-trick of signings that hits back at some of their critics in the transfer market.

Deulofeu has returned to Goodison Park for around £4.5m from Barcelona two years after first joining the club on a season-long loan.

Back in the summer of 2013 Deulofeu was one of three loan signings made by Roberto Martinez along with Romelu Lukaku and Gareth Barry.

They all played their part in a thrilling first season in charge under new manager Martinez, the Toffees eventually finishing fifth with their record points haul in the Premier League.




However, Everton’s progress – which at times posed a genuine threat to the established top four – appeared to ruffle feathers.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was the first to complain about Everton’s loans, an opinion quickly backed up by the media.

Many in the press were quick to discredit Everton’s achievements that year, claiming they took advantage of a ‘flawed’ transfer system in light of Financial Fair Play.

Martin Samuel even labelled the deals a ‘£50m loan sham’, claiming that would be the fee it would take to sign all three players permanently. As it was fee Everton couldn’t afford they were ‘shirking their financial responsibilities’.

Everton re-signed Romelu Lukaku last summer (Picture: Getty Images)

In the end Everton have paid less than £35m to bring all three players back to Goodison in permanent deals. Barry joined on a free transfer from Manchester City last summer while Lukaku also joined the same year from Chelsea in a deal that could rise to £28million.

The completion of the Deulofeu transfer completes a satisfying riposte to those who always seem to look for the negatives in the achievements outside the established elite.

Everton have played the transfer market perfectly in this case, signing players initially on loan to minimise the risk, playing them regularly, and then offering them permanent deals.

Critics in the media have got their arguments the wrong way around – why not target the teams that stockpile players and let them rot in the reserves?

Maybe then teams like Everton would have a chance to sign them permanently in the first place. That’s where FFP is flawed not the loan system, which has allowed teams to bring in players they may otherwise not be able to afford for decades.

I fully expect Martinez to adopt similar tactics this summer and bolster his side late on with loan signings after initially bringing in players on permanent contracts.

He sometimes does get it wrong – Chelsea’s Christian Atsu endured a disastrous spell at the club last season. However, the signings of Lukaku, Barry and Deulofeu is proof the Everton boss gets it right more often than not.

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