Manchester United have indicated that they could re-enter the race to land Romelu Lukaku, as Chelsea talks with Everton continue to stall.
United and Everton are locked in talks over Wayne Rooney who is set to return to Goodison Park this week, and I understand during this dialogue – The Toffees made it clear that the future of Lukaku was also still far from resolved.
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United had believed that Lukaku – who they had been tracking before this summer- was just about a done deal to Chelsea, and whilst personal terms are believed to have been virtually agreed – talks between the two clubs have been way off.
Everton have long insisted they wanted close to £100million, but Chelsea were not looking to go above £80million – and now United could be ready to compete.
Chelsea, who are also keen on taking Swansea’s Fernando Llorente, are locked in talks with Atletico Madrid to send Diego Costa back to his former club – but now they could be forced to get the Lukaku deal done before Costa’s exit is confirmed.
Lukaku himself has insisted that he knows where he wants to go and a return to Chelsea had looked close, after he made it clear that he was not going to sign a new contract at Everton – but now United could give him something else to think about.
United are close to wrapping up a move for Alvaro Morata in a deal which is likely to be worth around £70million as talks have progressed well with Real Madrid – but seemingly they could be open to adding Lukaku along with him despite the huge outlay it would cost for both deals.
Despite the United links, Chelsea sources are staying calm and firmly believe the Belgian will return to Stamford Bridge this summer.
Bookmakers certainly believe that Lukaku is still heading to Chelsea, but the odds on United have been significantly cut.
SkyBet rate Chelsea at 4/5 with United now into 5/4.