Everton prepared to dig their heels in over Lukaku

Lyndon Lloyd | Thursday, 04 August 2016

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Ronald Koeman has reportedly been angered by Chelsea's pursuit of Romelu Lukaku and is prepared to back a stance by the club to refuse all offers for the Belgian.

Just like John Stones last year, Lukaku has been the subject of relentless speculation over a possible move to Stamford Bridge since the end of Euro2016 but despite reports of multiple bids, ranging from £57m to £68m, Dominic King reports for MailOnline that the Blues have yet to receive an official offer.

If media talk is to be believed, Everton have set their asking price for the striker at £75m in an effort to ward off interest in last season's top scorer but the same Mail report claims that the Londoners are "confident" that £65m plus Loic Remy as a make-weight in the deal would be sufficient to tip Everton's hand.

Lukaku himself has spoken of a his desire to join a Champions League club this summer but with no bids forthcoming, he has had to sit tight until interest arose from his former club.

Chelsea can't offer the 23-year-old European football either this summer but they are banking on the prospect of a return to the Champions League in 2017-18 under the stewardship of Antonio Conte, plus the fact that they are his boyhood club, to tempt him into agitating for the transfer back to the Capital.