The future of Everton striker Romelu Lukaku has been subject to immense speculation in recent months, after the Belgian declared his disinterest in signing a new contract with the Merseyside outfit.
Lukaku has been in tremendous form for Everton in 2017-18, his 24 league goals meaning he leads the way in the Premier League’s golden boot rankings, whilst attracting alleged transfer attention from Manchester United, Real Madrid and the Belgian’s former employers and Premier League champions elect* in 2017 (*likely) – Chelsea.
Lukaku’s refusal to sign a new contract comes as no real surprise to Farhad Moshiri (majority stakeholder) and manager Ronald Koeman, though regardless Everton will unquestionably be willing to break their wage structure further to even entertain the possibility of keeping Lukaku: he is Moshiri’s prized asset.
The footballing vultures; a vulture characterised by its ability to prey on the (financially) weaker, will be circling, though there is a twist in the reported interest in Lukaku from clubs such as Manchester United and Chelsea. Moshiri has brought with him money, and a lot of it.
Everton will be willing to financially accommodate Lukaku at whatever cost, alongside filling the starting XI with international stars of the highest pedigree.
In addition to this, Everton’s academy is producing players of a particularly high quality of late: Tom Davies and Mason Holgate having regularly featured for Ronald Koeman this season in the Premier League.
Everton are a club firmly on course with an upwards trajectory, and financial impetus will be a key determinant in the levels of success Koeman achieves in 2017-18 and beyond.
Moshiri is willing to back his manager; handpicked from Southampton, though who are the latest transfer targets reported to me bolstering the ranks at Goodison Park in Summer?
Reported interest in previous playing associates of Ronald Koeman such as Virgil Van Dijk is huge for Everton, whilst Micheal Keane has been linked with a move from Turf Moor to Goodison in the Summer.
The reported transfer fees? £55m and £35m for Van Dijk and Keane respectively. Moshiri is willing to spend, and his January acquisition of Morgan Schneiderlin suffices as evidence to justify this. Upon arriving at Goodison Park in a £23.8m deal from Manchester United, Schneiderlin told Sky Sports:
“This club has ambition. They want to do great things and it has put a lot of confidence in me. I want Everton to reach the top and play in the Champions League. I’m just 27 and I want to do big things with this football club.
“That was the main thing for me, I wanted a club with ambition – not just to speak but to act on it. They brought good players last summer and they will bring good players this summer, they told me so. That’s what made me want to come”.
Morgan Schneiderlin – January, 2017
These are the words from Everton’s January signing that Moshiri and Koeman will hope to influence Lukaku. The ambition Everton hold as a Premier League team is no longer in question, though will Belgian’s number nine and Premier League hot property Romelu Lukaku see the same vision?
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