Anyone in the Prem would be happy with Lukaku (apart from possibly Man City), so that's a great coup. We've got Chelsea's best striker playing for us next season. So it's on loan. We can investigate the possibility of a long term move, and if that's not possible RM and his scouts have a year to assess the squad and scout players to bring in.
Barry's a solid, intelligent addition. Not my favourite player in the world personally, but I can absolutely see the sense and logic in bringing in proven depth. As others have said, his contract's up next year, and if he has a good season with us, I'm sure we can pick him up on a free. If he doesn't set the world on fire or we scout other midfielders, we can even terminate the loan by January, so we've given ourselves great flexibility there.
And I can't wait til McCarthy has played 4 or 5 games in a row for us, because I'm looking forward to the inevitable ''McCarthy looks better than I thought'' threads and posts. I honestly think this will prove to be one of the best signings of the entire window for any club, and that his value will be double that after a good season or two with us. Who cares if he came from Wigan? He's the one RM wanted all along, and the other ex Wigan players are literally just providing depth and cover.
I understand the concerns about having a few loans, and people saying it's a short term fix, but I really think that's a good thing. RM and his team behind the scenes couldn't possibly know our team inside out yet, and couldn't know exactly the players we're going to need moving forward. There is a perception that the loans leave us vulnerable in the future, because we'll lose players, but it actually gives us huge flexibility and buys time. Would people rather us do a lash minute trollet dash like Arsenal 2 years ago, and hope that 2 out of our 5 signings turn out well?
Sad to see Felli go (his name's on my Everton top), but it was inevitable for a long time and we fleeced and embarrassed the Mancs. Hope Victor has a successful and happy career, and never scores against us ever.