Martinez realistic over Everton’s ability to hold on to Lukaku

In terms of the Euros in the summer, there is going to be a lot of pressure on him to score. Benteke has been poor all season and I don’t know of any other Belgian strikers playing well at present. If Lukaku can play well and show that he can handle the pressure, August will be a busy month for his agent.

The supposed top clubs in England have shown themselves to be a mess this season. I don’t know how much of an attraction they will be outside of doubling Lukaku’s wages. As it stands he will be in line for a decent wage increase at Everton anyway.

I would imagine it would be someone like Real Madrid or PSG who will be the most attractive to him. Ibrahimovic is due to leave PSG and Madrid have been poor this season so both clubs will be looking to bolster their attacks and Lukaku would be their main man up front. Clubs like these two can easily afford to throw £50m-60m at us without blinking. They could easily afford to offer Lukaku £100,000 a week in wages.

I think that Lukaku may go in the summer. I’m genuinely hoping that he doesn’t as he would be nearly impossible to replace straight away and we don’t need the transfer fee as badly as we used to. Interesting times.

PSG seem like a perfect fit for him. Maybe we could get Zlatan for a couple of years in return?!!!

There are only two things that think we may be able to keep Rom:

1. Mr Moshiri will not want to be seen flogging our best player in his first transfer window.

2. Even if he does want away, Rom is a good lad and I think his career is too important to him to just throw his toys out the pram a la Lescott.

The bids will come though... I don’t doubt that.

We know the the player wants to play at the top level (Champions League); we know his agent has said he would never have signed for Everton if I had been around... so the only way we can hold on to Rom is by paying him a load of money, in my opinion.

Is anyone really going to be surprised if he moves on?

A striker that is capable of 20-30 goals a season is gold dust in this era, even Manchester United and Liverpool don’t possess a player of this ilk nowadays.

Martinez speaks of bringing in the "right character" which of course is important but if Lukaku does leave we must sign a player that can give us the goals he brings.

I’m not going to rule out Niasse but I very much doubt he’s going to be a prolific goalscorer, I get the impression he’s going to be a more powerful version of Kone.

He will however come in as a useful back-up striker.

If Lukaku goes you are looking at needing to pay half of that fee for Rom plus wages to sign the real deal and finished article type striker.

a) the fact that neither Chelsea nor possibly Man Utd will have Champions League football to offer;
b) He may be tempted to see what the Moshiri era has to offer;
c) He’s very much the main man here which is how he likes it.

A month ago, I would have bet my house on him going but times are a-changin'.

If lukaku goes it's the managers fault. The lad will end up with 30 goals plus this season but the team will be mid table at best.

Don't hold your breath that this clown goes anytime given the shite Kenwright was spouting Saturday night either. That was a message to the fans to say "forget it he's here at least another season".

All the gear and no idea..

This bit made me laugh – "It is not like I play three games great and six games bad, I have always been good this year and this is something I wanted."

I can't see Mr Moshiri being overly pleased with a statement that effectively opens the door to unwanted bids for one of our best players. Just when will Martinez learn that sometimes, silence is golden!

PSG would pay lots of cash but they just won 8-0 at the weekend and have secured the title with 8 games to go, so the only the competitive games for them are the CL. If money is not his primary driver; I doubt he'd go there.

Real Madrid however, might be a different story if he can fit in with Ronaldo's Ego.

Would love to see us keep hold, but can't help but feel only a move for a top manager could convince Rom that we stand any chance of CL football in 2017, and even if that were to materialise I fear the level of club that will be able to afford Rom will be too good to refuse.

Only thing we have going for us is the fact he appears happy for now, he's playing all the game time he could wish for and scoring a lot of goals.

Fingers, toes and anything else you can think if crossed!

We are not in the same situation as when we sold Rooney at all.

PS Duncan 6 I don't know whether you are speaking from first hand experience and if so what part of the ground you sit in, but I don't hear "plenty" of fans slagging him off at all in my part of Bullens Road Paddock. Or Ross for that matter.

Swap deal for Ibra, although if that happens then Satan better put a jacket on to keep warm.

Spuds had to give up Bale. Our lovely 'bours had to cough up both Suarez and Sterling.

If it happens, we will be handsomely compensated. It's what you do with such a monetary windfall that determines if the deal was good for the club or not. Spuds and the 'poo, I would suggest, spunked away a lot of money on very average talent.

As he continues to prove this season, Romelu is a BEAST of a player for us and we will be greatly weakened should he leave.

Like the majority, I'm sure, I hope it isn't as early as this summer that he departs, because with the wedge that Moshri brings to the table and the side teasingly on the brink of 'lift off,' after years in the doldrums Everton maybe, just maybe, could once again be serious contenders amongst English and European heavyweights.

Please make retaining Rom your first order of business. He can make a ton of money and pursue his goals just as well at Goodison as elsewhere – assuming your intent is to return EFC to its glory.

You intend in invest on the player side? Good. Start with Lukaku getting an appropriate wage increase.

I can't wait. Can really be a miserable tw*t all year then.

(This is based on as much evidence as many posts on this thread. One quote ! )

There is of course nothing to say Lukaku may want to wait and see now we have a new owner and increased backing.

So many times I hear "he feeds off scraps" – really he doesn't, he is the focal point of our attack. He has had the two most shots on goal in the league behind Kane who takes a far largest percentage outside the box. He's scored more goals in the 6-yard box than any striker

I think he would become a far better player if we signed another quality striker – I don't know if Niasse is that person. We need someone to challenge Rom for top dog status... That said I think he is off anyway and the money we get if invested right could see us push on.

On his day a very very potent weapon and match winner. We just don't have that player on the bench that makes him think "eh up – Jamie Vardy is getting warmed up... better pull my finger out". For me if he could lose those "not really up for it today games" then he would be a hero of mine.

I mean, that lazy, limited plank of a footballer Romelu Lukaku doesn’t have the strength to score beyond the 6-yard box, does he?

Passed up many an opportunity to whack one in from distance for his first goal Saturday. But no! He had to get to the edge of the 6-yard box before he even thought about shooting, and even then it just trickled across the line, useless waste of space!

What did you think of the second goal? You know the one he rifled in with his ’swinger’?

If we fail then our only hope of retaining our key men is to replace RM with a top manager (Jose) who hopefully can convince Rom, Stones et al to stick.

Would he give us the benefit of another year to see if all that can come to fruition with him as a part of it? The truth is we will never really know until it happens will we?

One of the reasons Rooney left (or so the story goes) is supposedly because as much as he was a blue he knew that at that time Everton were going nowhere and we would have to agree that at that time he was right. But that may well not be the case now. We already have a great but underachieving squad that is likely to get better if everything Moshiri hints at is true. The club needs to let all the players we want to keep realise that a new era for Everton is about to begin and that another season would be possibly enough for them all to see it working out positively....or not.

Of course it's not impossible we could keep him for another year paying him big money but to do so we would need Rom to extend his contract again by another 3 years to protect his value.

Like everything time will tell.

His class goal on Saturday was all down to him (penalty box, not 6 yard box).

As much you would love to believe that he probably ran to the by line – crossed the ball and flew into the box to finish the others they were all pretty much Gerry and his fizzers into the box – the stats suggest, he gets service otherwise his dribble completion stats would be far better than they are...

back to the subject – £60m would be a decent amount for him. Be interesting to see who we replace him with.

How can we expect to get £60m for such a lazy limited footballer..?

Summat amiss here, methinks...

Rom left Chelsea because he wanted to be "the man" up front and not challenge for the position. Rom hired a manager that is known for moving players to big clubs. He wants to be on the world stage and play for the biggest club possible – where he could be the #1 forward.

As Jay Wood said, If Man U could not keep Ronaldo the season after he won the Ballon d’Or nobody can be kept if they want to go. Even if EFC made the Champions League this year, I believe Rom would go to Madrid, PSG, Bayern, Dortmund or any other huge club that has been mentioned. Rom has always been a man in a hurry.

It’s possible he gives it another year here but I won’t rip him or anyone else if he goes. It’s business, not personal.

Martinez was so quick to say Stones is not for sale – why is he not saying the same about Rom? Mr M needs to give Rom a pay rise and tell him the team is going to be built around him and sell his vision of the future at EFC.

Barkley will also attract some large bids, you can bet your bottom dollar on it. It's a chicken-and-egg situation really, all the very top players seem to want Champions League football nowadays and if you can't offer it, you're struggling.

Apologies for being so negative but that’s the way it looks to me.

He has just increased his value by £10 million following that performance, he is developing well here and we have a new billionaire investor. There are only a handful of clubs that can even afford him now – the likes of Bayern, Dortmund and Juventus are not among them.

Man City, PSG, Real Madrid. That’s basically it and I don’t think he’d make their sides. He has been adamant that he wants to play so I see him here next season.

But this is all hypothetical. The boy could be going home and night and kissing his Everton pillow and dreaming Everton dreams. Waking in the morning to eat from his Everton bowl... :)

I suspect that the talks that RM had with Lukaku and his agent before the season started was along the lines of if we don't make Europe then you will be allowed to leave.

Why is he making this statement now months before the next transfer window opens. He goes on to say we could buy three or four players with the money. So he obviously knows were Lukaku is going and also knows what he will get for him.

I would just remind RM Spurs got £80 Million for Gareth Bale, and they wasted most of the money. This team that Pochettino has put together has very few of those bought with the Bale money. Similarly our neighbours got roughly the same for Suarez and they are struggling to make the top 6.

It was done with Stones and it can be done with Lukaku. The club has the right to say "you’ve got three years left and we don’t want to sell."

The lad then has the choice of throwing his toys out of the pram and not playing at 100%, which would put off potential buyers anyway, or knuckling down and giving 100%.

The players only have all the power if the clubs haven’t got the balls to stand firm and wave the contract in the air!!

I am only relaying what the steward said to me. I have no idea how he managed to get that extremely private bit of info.

He's the same steward who reckoned Bill was at death's door, so what does he know?

Did by some reason the fact that we have had to endure year after year of sub £10m strikers like Bent, Beckford, Beattie, AJ et al mean that we can't possibly criticise anything about a player who gets 15+ goals a season?

If Lukaku was weak, slow, short then I could potentially handle performances that made you think he was Mickey Quinn wearing the sky blue of Coventry just waiting for a ball to bounce his way as he jogged through a laboured 90 minutes... As it happens he is possibly the most athletically gifted striker in the world – so yeah it kinda gets on my nerves when I do see him offer nothing up front on the games where you can actually see he isn't bothered or are these the games where "he's been isolated"... in a word, ENIGMATIC!!

Putting it succinctly, we're fucked!

Player has an agent with a love of making money – CHECK

Club has wage caps far below what other clubs may pay him – CHECK

Major tournament in the summer where clubs get all excited and want to buy a player who could score goals before their price inflates – CHECK

The usually overly euphoric Martinez sounding "realistic" over his sale – CHECK

Salukes, Romelu...

He’d also get to play in Europe, albeit the Europa if that happens. He wouldn’t even get that if he signed for Chelsea, and United are only going to make the Europa this season, if that. No, I think he’ll stick with us next season unless he wants to play in another league, in which case, PSG are the only team I see paying the £65m we are said to value Rom at.

I’ll be absolutely gutted if he leaves. Yes, we might be able to bring in 3-4 players but I see Rom imperative to our chances of success. Look what happened to RS when they spent the money they got for Ratboy?!

IMO, one player who will be gone is John Stones. I watched the replay of the game on the BBC red button. He doesn’t look a happy chappy sitting on the bench and I’ll think he’ll push for his move... and he’ll get it. If he goes, I’d offer Stoke £40m for Shawcross and Jack Butland.

Mirallas is another one. If we get £45m for Stones and £9-10m for Mirallas. Not to mention the saved wages on Pienaar and Darren Gibson, Mr Moshiri won’t need to put his hand in his pocket, except for improved contracts offers for Rom and Barkley.

If we turned down a £37m bid last summer we’re not going to accept £25m for him. He can stay as third choice CB and develop with us if we get derisory offers like that.

I’d be happy if that happened. He’s 21 years old. He’s got lots of time to become Everton and England captain.

As for calling time on RM, be careful what you wish for, all this talk of enough is enough, bla bla bla, but I've yet to see anyone pipe up with a realistic replacement manager name, i.e. better the devil you know and let's see how the rest of the season pans out, although it is March and we DON'T even have 40 points yet!

Oh ... bless, Peter!

Am I 'annoyed' that you have 'the temerity to criticise Romelu?'

Not in the LEAST, Peter. I'm just joshing with you (and laughing at you, I must admit...) because of your quite frankly absurd assessment of Lukaku.

You have repeatedly on numerous threads, and often within the same post, listed what you view as his many shortcomings and then, in the same breath, said we should take £50m for him.

Oh wait! That was last week! Today you've added another £10m to his worth.

Can you not see the obvious contradiction in your own oft repeated words?

Criticise who you like and as vehemently as you like. But then, be prepared for some brickbats if others (such as myself) differ in opinion to you.

Fair enough?

Referencing the likes as Bent, Beckford, Beattie, AJ and even Mickey Quinn as you do in some (verrrrrry stretched) association to Rom is eveidence to me you are struggling to maintain your stated position on the lad as the goals keep coming and records keep tumbling.

But keep 'em coming, Peter! Gems like: "I see him offer nothing up front in the games where you can actually see he isn’t bothered." It's healthy to read something which offers a big belly laugh on TW now and again.

In a word 'ENIGMATIC', you say.

In a word, 'BOLLOX', I say...

It's one thing to go down the Kings Road waving a trophy to 60,000 people, it's completely different to parading through a City where a half-million people turn out.

Bring that cup home and he will be desperate for more. I can't remember too many who have won a trophy at Everton and chose to play their football elsewhere the next season.

All this talk of £40-50m is nonsense, the rich teams buy potential, as well as the finished article, and Rom certainly has potential in abundance. So it's not to far fetched to put a minimum fee of £70-75m on his head.

If they want him they want him they can pay for him. So let them get into a bidding war but saying that, I still think the lad will give us another year to see if there is a chance of success with Everton. I've heard he's happy at the club and very happy with the manager.

Don’t care who the favourites get! They’ll all be hoping to avoid us.

Rom would need to score 8 goals in the next 60 days to pass Messi’s club total (doubtful, yes); 5 more and he ties Aguero for club goals through age 22.

Some players already below him (club goals through age 22):

Christian Ronaldo 97, Rooney 94, Michael Owen 111, Suarez 77, Zlatan 62, Henry 57 and Drogba 8.

If Everton are going to go to the next level, Lukaku must stay. Anyone got any ideas who our next 20+ goals a season striker is going to be?

Finally, we should be able to offer him a great deal in wages with our new owner in place.

We're talking about someone putting in a massive offer that we can't refuse. He's got to be worth £60-70M in the current market and would hold that value for another year into his contract... so we'd be talking about an offer in the region of £90-100M for him to go this summer?

I think we'll hold him for another year (even if it's against his will) unless someone offers ridiculous money.

Even then, it's hard to see how we improve without a top goalscorer in the side. No amount of money will attract an adequate replacement to us.

The big problem being what top player joins a club that’s looking like finishing mid-table along with West Brom and Bournemouth? For me, Lukaku is irreplaceable.

Like all ambitious young players he wants his career to develop quickly, yet at 22 he's only where Rooney was status-wise when he was only in his late teens. So much time has already passed.

Will he go this summer? The odds much be very short that he will.

He now knows what it feels like to play for club where he is loved and is the main man. He has developed a lot under RM (and Dunc) and has struck up good friendships with a few of his team mates around his ow age. I have a feeling he will bide his time and maybe wait a year yet before moving.

Yes, Spain will have the money, trophies, fame and the weather but also a lot more pressure where the fans will be on his back if he’s not scoring regularly.

It seems unlikely that another goals genius will come along quickly so a more defensive policy will HAVE to be adopted. Is RM capable of that sea change in his approach? I think not. So let's just enjoy the Big Fella whilst he's ours, shall we!

Sure you can call him greedy and disloyal but that’s the way of the world today and don’t forget careers can be ended in a flash with one bad injury so why not make hay while the sun shines? If Everton end the season without the trophy and a passage to Europe, then expect the usual rumblings from a few players.