Chelsea will reportedly continue their pursuit of Everton striker Romelu Lukaku, despite seeing a £57m bid rejected for the Belgian worldwide.
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Chelsea have received a huge boost in their ongoing pursuit of Everton star Romelu Lukaku after the Merseyside club accept that the striker wants to leave.
It is said that Everton are looking for £75m for the 23-year-old front-man, a figure to almost match the price Juventus recently paid for Gonzalo Higuain, and eclipsed only by Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo when they joined Real Madrid in 2013 and 2009 respectively.
Boss Antonio Conte has already landed one Belgium global striker, £33m Michy Batshuayi from Marseille, this summer and remains confident of keeping Spain frontman Diego Costa, despite sustained interest from his former club Atletico Madrid. This prompted the Goodison Park club to spend big to keep the Chelsea man in Liverpool full time.
Had Chelsea’s £57m bid been accepted and the deal gone through, Lukaku would have become the second most expensive player ever bought by a British club, behind Angel Di Maria, who cost Manchester United £59.7m when he arrived from Real Madrid two years ago, according to BBC Sport.
Reports suggest Lukaku is keen to make the switch back to Chelsea but it is ultimately up to the Everton management, who will be keen to get as much as £75 million out of their Premier League rivals.
He was on the Londoners’ books for three seasons but spent the 2012-13 and 2013-14 campaigns out on loan at first West Brom and then Everton.
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Instead, the Dutchman is now searching for alternatives with agreement on a fee all that stands between Lukaku and a return to the English capital.
