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No Resolution of Lukaku Situation Until After the World Cup
Roberto Martinez says that if the Belgian is to leave Chelsea this summer as speculation suggests he will, he doesn't expect any movement on Romelu Lukaku's future until after the World Cup.
The manager has made no secret of his desire to sign the striker on a permanent basis this summer but he will likely have to wait to see what happens with Lukaku's parent club's own transfer dealings first.
“Chelsea, are delighted with his progress and the player has developed an incredible relationship with our fans," Martinez says in the
Liverpool Echo. “His memories will never evaporate, but we will see what's next.
“We'll see what's the best thing for everyone. But everything will be in stages: how Chelsea are doing in their own squad and how that frees some players. It's going to take a bit of time and I don't think Romelu's situation is going to be resolved before the World Cup, in truth.
“I think it will be after the World Cup.”
The biggest obstacle for the Blues will be the transfer fee with media speculation suggesting the Londoners will be looking for at least £20m and if there is any truth to the reports, there will be plenty of potential suitors for the 20 year-old, particularly if he does well in Brazil.
“We are too close to Romelu to hope he has a poor tournament! We hope he has a really, really good World Cup . . . and then decides to come to us,” Martinez says.
And the Spaniard is typically gracious towards Lukaku in dealing with the issue of the fee.
“I don't think [a ~£20m fee] is my worry. The worry would be that if the deal was a cheap one, it would be because he has had a torrid time and hasn't fulfilled his potential.
“The reason Romelu came to Everton was for him to take a big role, take a lot of responsibility, to start playing 90 minutes and be a real brain in that forward line, and he has done that so we couldn't be happier.”
