Chelsea have reportedly had a £57m bid for Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku rejected by Everton, who paid the London club less than half of that price to sign the player from Stamford Bridge in 2014.
That is according to The Mirror, with the newspaper claiming that Chelsea are still confident of re-signing the 23-year-old, who is valued at £75m by Everton.
The Mirror also state that Lukaku has his heart set on a return to Stamford Bridge.
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Had Chelsea’s £57m bid been accepted and the deal gone through, Lukaku would have become the second most expensive player ever bought by a British club, behind Angel Di Maria, who cost Manchester United £59.7m when he arrived from Real Madrid two years ago, according to BBC Sport.
Should Everton get the extra £18m they are requesting, Lukaku could instead break the British transfer record.
However, it seems likely that Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has that record in the bag, with the Daily Mail reporting that his £100m move to Man United is done and set to be officially confirmed imminently.
Nevertheless, a Lukaku return to SW6 will see him become Chelsea’s biggest ever buy, replacing Fernando Torres, who BBC News reported to be a £50m signing when he swapped Liverpool for London in 2011.
Lukaku scored 25 goals in 46 games for Everton last season, including 18 strikes in 37 Premier League outings.