Romelu Lukaku reportedly remains hopeful of getting a move back to Chelsea this summer, but Everton believe they can persuade him to stay at Goodison Park by offering him a new £135,000-a-week contract. 

According to Simon Johnson in the Evening Standard, Lukaku remains “keen” on a return to the club he left for Everton in 2014 and Chelsea are prepared to offer £60 million plus Loic Remy for the Belgian striker.

The Toffees, though, are not open to selling Lukaku and claim they have yet to receive a bid from Chelsea, while they are now preparing to open talks with the 23-year-old’s agent, Mino Raiola, over a new deal, added Johnson.

Chelsea are in desperate need of added firepower in attack, and Lukaku would be a perfect solution to their strike problems given that he is already familiar with the club and a proven goalscorer in the Premier League, per WhoScored.com:

It is understandable that Lukaku would want a move back to Stamford Bridge as, while Chelsea finished only a place above Everton in the 2015-16 Premier League table, their prospects are much better heading into the new term.

The Blues’ 2015-16 campaign was something of an anomaly as they plummeted from Premier League champions to mid-table anonymity.

However, with new manager Antonio Conte now at the helm in west London and no European football to contend with, Chelsea will surely be competing for the title again in 2016-17.

Everton’s prospects are also on the up with Ronald Koeman installed as their new manager, but Chelsea’s bigger stature and resources mean Lukaku is much more likely to win medals and trophies at Stamford Bridge.

Per Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe, Conte is likely to play two men up front in the coming campaign, meaning Chelsea need depth in attack:

They have already added Michy Batshuayi from Marseille in the summer transfer window, but current No. 1 striker Diego Costa could be on his way out of Chelsea—he has reportedly been offered to Inter Milan and Napoli, per the Sun‘s Geoff Sweet.

Thus the Blues need a reliable goalscorer on their books who can slot straight into their system and has proven to be an effective goalscorer in the Premier League.

Belgium international Lukaku is one of few who fits the bill and, although he will be very expensive, he could still surely improve further at Chelsea as he has yet to reach his peak.

With the player himself seemingly agitating for a move back to Chelsea, the Blues still have a great chance of signing him up despite Everton’s reservations.

But they need to get a deal done as soon as possible with the new Premier League season beginning on Saturday.

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