Everton blocked move to Premier League rival, says Lukaku

Romelu Lukaku has revealed he was close to joining an unnamed Premier League side only for Everton to block the move.

The Belgium international was heavily linked with a move away from Everton in the summer and had been tipped with a return to Chelsea.

Antonio Conte’s side even made several offers to re-sign Lukaku but failed to match Everton’s valuation of their club-record signing before signing his Belgian teammate Michy Batshuayi.

The 23-year-old had made a bright start to the season but Everton’s sharp decline has seen the goals dry up and now Lukaku has revealed just how close he came to leaving Goodison Park in the summer.

“I’m not going to lie. There was a specific club in England who was really keen to buy me,” Lukaku told Voetbalmagazine, via London Evening Standard.

“But Everton’s new staff made me understand they didn’t want me to leave. What can you do when that happens?”

“I would not say no to Serie A, La Liga, Ligue 1 or the Bundesliga, but before such a move several conditions need to be met. First I need a coach to work with who believes in me as there is no point in signing for someone and then realise on the spot that the system is not designed for me.”

Lukaku has scored seven goals in 13 Premier League appearances this season but is now without a goal in each of his last four matches for Everton, who have severely dipped under Ronald Koeman in recent years.

Despite the fact Everton have only managed one win in their last nine league matches, Koeman’s side are still only one point of sixth.

For more stats on Romelu Lukaku, click here to visit his WhoScored player page