Chelsea legend Didier Drogba will reportedly play a significant role in the club’s bid to sign Romelu Lukaku this summer, while the striker himself will determine his own future.
As noted by Standard Sport earlier this week, it will likely take a record fee of £65m for Chelsea to prise their former starlet away from Goodison Park.
The 23-year-old has been in stellar form so far this season, scoring 22 goals in 30 appearances in all competitions as he has now registered the most prolific campaign of his career to date.
However, speculation has been building over his future on Merseyside, and claims over the weekend have strengthened the suggestion that he could be set for a return to Stamford Bridge this summer.
The Mirror note that under an agreement reached with Everton majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri and chairman Bill Kenwright last year, the Belgian international will have the final say on his future after agreeing to stay for one more season.
If that is the case, and Lukaku decides that Everton can’t offer him what he craves, then he could be set to leave Ronald Koeman’s side this summer with the agreement suggesting that the club won’t stand in his way.
As noted in the report, it’s claimed that Lukaku rejected a new £130,000-a-week contract last week, and so it points towards a possible exit at the end of the season.
To add further strength to the argument that he will be Chelsea bound this summer, The Sun claim that Drogba, who is still close friends with the former Blues ace, will play a huge role in convincing him to try his luck at Chelsea again.
Everton certainly won’t appreciate that happening, but with Lukaku keen to test himself in the Champions League and with Chelsea on course to win the Premier League title this season and return to Europe, the pieces could be falling into place.