Manchester United Transfer News: Huge Romelu Lukaku Price Revealed, Top Rumours

Manchester United have cooled their interest in Romelu Lukaku after Everton slapped a £45 million price tag on the striker's head. 

Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail reported the Toffees have deliberately priced their player out of a switch away, hoping to ward off suitors who come calling for the Belgian's services.

The 22-year-old signed for the Merseyside club for £28 million in 2014, and Lukaku has maintained a huge reputation since Chelsea brought him to the Premier League as a teenager. 

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Joe Short of the Express confirmed United's interest in the player, citing the Mail's piece, but they will not do business at the inflated price: "The Belgium international was a transfer target of Manchester United's not too long ago but it appears as though Old Trafford boss Louis van Gaal is seeking other recruits this winter after learning of the fee."

However, Lukaku's outspoken agent, Mino Raiola, insists the player can leave Everton in the future, claiming to French radio station Radio Monte Carlo (h/t Kieran Gill of Mail Online) he has discussed the possibility of a transfer with the Goodison Park management after his client was also linked to Paris Saint-Germain: "Lukaku to PSG? We had a discussion with Martinez, he said he would let him leave Everton if a good offer comes in. But talking about the transfer window now makes no sense."

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Lukaku employed the services of Raiola last season—who is also Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic's agent—fuelling speculation he might desire a switch to a bigger club. However, manager Roberto Martinez remained unfazed by the switch, saying, per Gill: 

"

He has changed his agent, yes, but we are not concerned, no. Rom is entitled to do that.

Everyone speaks about the colourful character that Mino Raiola is but he has a lot of players who are very much people who are happy to stay at one club. 

I dealt with Mino Raiola at Wigan and not many people know that he had Danny de Ridder or Vladimir Weiss, players who have been happy to stay at a club. 

I don't think there is anything to read into that.

"

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United have struggled to score goals in recent weeks, and the losses of Robin van Persie, Radamel Falcao and Javier Hernandez has left Van Gaal short of strikers. 

Wayne Rooney has struggled to find the back of the net with any consistency, and James Wilson has had to contend with injury. 

However, it is questionable whether Lukaku is the answer for the Red Devils. He is proven to be a threat in the Premier League, but his lack of genuine pace would hamstring United further as they look to play a slower passing style. 

Everton will certainly scare off opposition clubs with their extraordinary valuation, as Lukaku's overall form does not currently warrant such a price. 

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The player's statistics for the current campaign are healthy, scoring six times and assisting on four occasions in the Premier League, according to WhoScored.com. However, he does have a tendency to go missing at times.

United cannot afford a lack of consistency from a big new signing, as the capture of Memphis Depay is proving. LvG wanted to strengthen his starting XI in the summer, but Memphis' form has seen him consigned to the bench. 

Rooney and Anthony Martial will continue to share the forward duties for United in the coming months, but Van Gaal will need to bring a genuine goalscorer in during the January transfer window to maintain the Red Devils' charge both at home and abroad.