Seasons » 2014-15 » Rumour Mill
Chelsea price Lukaku at £30m as speculation heats up
Everton appear to be stepping up their attempts to sign Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea, with Sky Sports reporting that the Blues are "close" to agreeing a £24m deal for the Belgian while reports elsewhere claim the Londoners have slapped a £30m price tag on his head.
The Daily Star is the latest 'source' to chime in, headlining a claim that Everton have agreed a club record fee of £28.5M to reunite the striker with Roberto Martinez.
Sky's report suggests that if the Blues are rebuffed in their attempts to land Lukaku on a permanent deal, they will "request a loan" for the 21 year-old who spent last season at Goodison Park, scoring 16 goals in all competitions.
That report comes in the wake of a similar claim by Sky Italia journalist, Gianluca Di Marzio, who says that Everton are close to an agreement with Chelsea. Betfair, meanwhile, have suspended betting on Lukaku moving to the Blues based on their understanding that talks between the two clubs are underway.
The Telegraph and The Mirror claim in the meantime that Chelsea want £30m for Lukaku, while comments attributed to Oscar Damiani Junior, described as an assistant of Christophe Henrotay, the striker's agent, has told Italian media that he believes Lukaku will be sold outright and that he will stay in the Premier League rather than move abroad.
Sky go on to claim that the outcome of the negotiations over Lukaku will have knock-on effects for Roberto Martinez's hopes of bringing Christian Atsu in on loan this season. Premier League rules apparently state that a club cannot loan two players from the same team in a given season.
If Lukaku is secured on a full transfer, Atsu is tipped to follow him to Merseyside on a season-long loan. Sky report that Atsu did not travel with Chelsea's squad to Austria this week and has been given permission to speak to Everton and Aston Villa.
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