Romelu Lukaku to Everton: Toffees Complete Loan Deal for Chelsea Striker

Romelu Lukaku has moved to Everton from Chelsea for the 2013/14 season.

Lukaku confirmed the deal on his Twitter account shortly after the close of the summer transfer window: 

Bringing in a striker like Lukaku will be regarded as a big move for the club. In the battle for position in the middle of the Premier League table, a player of this caliber can make a significant difference.

This is the second season in a row Lukaku has been loaned to another Premier League club, having been at West Brom for the 2012-13 season. In his time at The Hawthorns, the young forward was a major success, scoring 17 goals in 35 EPL appearances. With Lukaku racking up the goals, the Baggies finished eighth in the table in Steve Clarke's first season as manager.   

Despite the Belgian's success last season, the loan won't come as a major surprise to many Chelsea supporters after the club brought in Samuel Eto'o on a one-year deal, per the Press Association via The Guardian. That move followed the Blues' capitulation in the Wayne Rooney sweepstakes, per Kevin Palmer of ESPN FC.

The arrival of the Cameroonian star left Lukaku fighting for playing time with three players—Eto'o, Fernando Torres and Demba Ba—all of whom are more experienced and established players.

It's a strategy Chelsea have used quite a bit over the last couple of seasons regarding their young players. Thibaut Courtois is spending his third season in a row on loan, while Tomas Kalas, Josh McEachran and Kevin De Bruyne returned to the squad this summer after being on loan for the 2012-13 season.

When he returns from loan next season, Lukaku will have a much better chance of breaking into the Chelsea starting XI, as Eto'o's deal will have expired, and Ba and Torres will be 29 and 30 years old, respectively.

In the meantime, he'll likely become a key player at Everton as they look to finish in the top half of the table and possibly make a deep domestic cup run.