Conor Coady has returned to Merseyside after eight years away, but the Liverpool academy graduate has joined his boyhood club’s city rivals.
It has been eight years since Coady made the bold decision to leave Liverpool for Huddersfield on a permanent move, having spent the previous nine in the club’s academy.
Then a defensive midfielder, the St Helens native had made two appearances for the Reds’ first team, including a start against Anzhi Makhachkala in the Europa League, while also captaining the club through the age groups.
But his first-team prospects were clear, and a move to the Championship allowed him to forge a career that eventually saw him captain Wolves in the Premier League and become a regular in the England squad.
With the move underway at Wolves, however, Coady has now left, at least temporarily, to join Everton.
The 29-year-old will spend the 2022/23 campaign at Goodison Park, with suggestions he could move on to make the deal permanent next summer.
He becomes their fourth signing of the summer and remarkably the second player in Frank Lampard’s squad to represent both Liverpool and Everton at first-team level.
Goalkeeper Andy Lonergan remains part of the Blues’ senior squad after signing a new one-year deal in July, extending his stay for a second season.
Previously, the latest in a shortlist of dual Liverpool and Everton agents was Sander Westerveld, who joined the latter on an emergency 28-day loan from Portsmouth in 2006.
Peter Beardsey, Nick Barmby, Abel Xavier, Steve McMahon and Gary Ablett are among others who have done so in recent decades.
It will not have been a decision Coady has taken lightly, but it is understandable given his situation at Wolves and, like Rafa BenÃtez before him, it gives him the chance to move closer to home.
The first Merseyside derby of the season takes place at Goodison Park on September 3.