Everton are reportedly set to demand £100 million in order to thwart Chelsea and Manchester United in pursuit of Romelu Lukaku in the summer.
According to a report in the Daily Mail, Chelsea and Manchester United will have to shell out a world record sum in order to secure the services of Romelu Lukaku, with Everton set to place a price tag of £100 million on the Belgian striker’s head.
Lukaku made a name for himself as one of the most exciting young talents in Europe during a loan spell from Chelsea with West Bromwich Albion before he blossomed into the prolific powerhouse of a striker that he is today with Everton.
One of the most dominating striking forces in the world currently, he has some impressive stats for a player who has yet to hit his peak. Lukaku has scored 86 goals in addition to providing 29 assists in 161 appearances for the Toffees.
Romelu Lukaku has now scored as many Premier League goals (84) as Cristiano Ronaldo. ? pic.twitter.com/rDLN4Lxgci
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) April 15, 2017
24 (plus 6 assists) of those have come this season, a near season-long effort that has seen the 23-year-old romp to the top of the goalscoring charts in the Premier League. Having produced such impressive numbers while playing for a mid-table club, several top sides are now tailing him.
The likes of Juventus and Real Madrid have been linked with him in recent months, but Manchester United and Chelsea are believed to be the front runners to land Lukaku.
Manchester United are eager to sign a long-term successor for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, especially with the Swede’s future beyond this season at Old Trafford not certain. With teenage prodigy Marcus Rashford having made quite some waves in his young career already, the arrival of Lukaku could see the two potentially become one of the fearsome strike forces in Europe.
Meanwhile, Chelsea also have the future of their star striker mired in a lot of uncertainty. Diego Costa has been linked with a summer exit from Stamford Bridge, and with an impressive record in the Premier League to boast of, Lukaku could become a top notch replacement for the Spain striker.
Still all of 23, Lukaku already has an experience of five years in the Premier League and has his best years ahead of him. On top of that, the potential that is in front of him is exciting to say the least, which is why it is understandable that two of the best clubs in England are hot on his trails.
However, Everton are unwilling to let go of their prized asset any time soon, as they hold big ambitions of contesting in Europe as well as for the Premier League title. The Merseyside club see Lukaku as the ideal player to build their team around by recruiting heavily in the summer.
Thus, they have slapped a price tag of £100 million on Lukaku in order to ward off the interests of Chelsea and Manchester United. Everton have also put a new deal on the table for Lukaku, but he is believed to be stalling on signing it just yet.
It now remains to be seen if either Manchester United or Chelsea are deterred by the value on Lukaku’s head, or if they find a way to lower the price during negotiations. This transfer saga is getting interesting by the day though, and it will be interesting to see how things develop in the coming months.
