Lukaku focused on football not contract talks

They won't be signing until they're certain they can't get better elsewhere though, and they won't know that until the end of the summer window. I can't see us hearing anything soon.

'Go and enjoy your football, Rom, let me worry about this...', says Raiola, settling in for the long haul.

Over the last three seasons it's felt like he could leave every year. Granted, he is good enough to move on, but excuse me if I'm romantic enough to think that a player of a certain quality might think he's at the right club and that other players might gravitate towards him.

Romelu: Do us a favour and tell us when you're planning to leave if we don't win anything this season, or buy into this great club and break almost all available records to become something more than a 21st century mercenary.

Erm, didn't he initiate all this speculation with his annual "I want Champions League" crap?

I've always defended him on here and think it would be difficult to replace him, but sometimes (Lineker, Rooney) losing the focal point brings out the best in the other players: we haven't had a glut of midfield goals since the Moyes days, when Osman, Arteta, Cahill, McFadden, Gravesen etc where getting a healthy share to assist the strikers like Bent, Beattie and later years Ferguson and Campbell.

Also, with the money from a Rom transfer, we could buy a more mobile, pacy Premier League style player in the Aguero, Costa mode.

As I say, I don't want him to go, but his evasive answers on Sky Sports News are really pissing me off, and if he won't commit to our club, he doesn't deserve to be here, destabilising the plans and morale of the management, players and fans.

But you know something, I'm alright with that.

I hope he scores a hat trick every game. Every goal increases his value. I hope he signs a 10-year extension. The longer the contract, the more a potential suitor will have to pay to break it.

If he stays; I'd be ecstatic. If he leaves; he will leave us in a very good position. Over to you, Mr Walsh.

He made it clear BEFORE we got Koeman, Walsh, Moshiri & the new squad. Plus the new position we find ourselves in.

He looks a very happy man on & off the field, and I don't know how easy that would be for him to give up.

I think the best deal for both parties, is to increase his wages & give him a buyout clause of around £80mil.

Hopefully he stays for two or three more years & by the time he's in his prime, & a massive club come calling he goes for a huge fee & we can get in someone very decent as a replacement or have a large sum of money to do something with.

Until Everton is in the big shiny stadium on the docks, this will remain the norm for these players.

Sure we can dream about bringing in the Agueros and Costas, but that will never happen.

We will either get an up and coming starlet on ridiculous wages or a player whose star is on the wane.

We will never get, no matter how much we get for Rom, a player of the same calibre and age, they will all be searching for the same "big" club as Rom is, they wouldn't consider coming to us.

Completely agree that the best way to "protect" the club is to have a BIG buyout clause in his new contract. I wonder if that's the sticking point holding up his signing of the new contract though?

So all this stuff on TW complaining about Lukaku stringing us along is comical. He needs only to read our history to teach him to be as dispassionate towards the Club as they are to him.

I was gutted at the age of 11 when Bally was sold, and lost interest in the game. So was Bally disappointed by all accounts; Rom would be made up to walk away to another club.

He's at a reasonably good club at the moment, but wants to do well and win things. Would a repeat of 95 be enough for him? I doubt it.

If that offer comes along from a top Champions League outfit, I couldn't blame him for moving on. I just hope it makes Everton super rich in the process and we get good replacements in.

I'd much prefer Moshiri to stump up the £££ to surround him by players who make him look average and we do the quintuple in 2 year's time, but I don't think that's going to happen!

I'd much rather Rom's levelled response than a badge-kisser who implies loyalty and then decides to move on leaving EFC in the lurch – and it's not just players who do that, eh, Davey Moyes?

The last figures I saw had 20 of the top 25 clubs as all the Premier League. The other 5 were Barca, Madrid, Bayern, Juve and someone else I can't remember. I was to say Milan, but they're skint, no matter what these new owners are saying (they seem like Chinese Venky's).

So basically, I see the list of suitors for Lukaku as being the top 6, Barca, Madrid, Bayern and Juve. All of whom do not have the room for him at the moment, and would not waste £80m+ on a player to sit on the bench. He would not suit Barca's style.

The biggest and most inevitable link is Chelsea, but that all depends on what Costa does next. I fully expect them to offload Costa to China for a fortune and for us to then get a measely bid of £50m. Hopefully, we can stand firm enough to either keep him or to get closer to £100m. I would hold out for £80m.