Chelsea Transfer News: Romelu Lukaku Warning to Everton, Latest Blues Rumours

Chelsea will reportedly "not be held to ransom" by Everton in their pursuit of Romelu Lukaku and have warned the Toffees they "will turn elsewhere" if they are not prepared to negotiate down from their £65 million asking price.

According to Tony Banks in the Express, the Belgian striker is eager to leave Everton in the summer and "is keen on a return to Stamford Bridge" having left Chelsea for Goodison Park for £28 million in 2014.

However, the Blues, along with other suitors Manchester United and Juventus, are not prepared to pay the £65 million fee Everton are demanding and will walk away from the deal if the Merseyside outfit "will not negotiate," Banks added.

Playing away from Chelsea over the last four seasons, Lukaku has proved himself to be one of the most devastating forwards in the Premier League, per Squawka Dave:

At just 23 years old, he has the potential to improve further and could become one of the best strikers in the world, hence Chelsea's interest in re-signing him.

He also has the advantage of counting as a homegrown player given how long he has spent in England, a likely cause of his inflated price tag, per Belgian football writer Kristof Terreur:

The Blues are likely to require a complete strike overhaul in the summer as Diego Costa, Loic Remy and Radamel Falcao could all be on their way out of Stamford Bridge, per MailOnline's Simon Jones.

Per Banks, Lukaku is "high on the list of strikers" wanted by incoming manager Antonio Conte, but clearly the Blues are not prepared to splash out more than double what they sold him for in order to get him back.

They may, however, have to battle against other major clubs to sign him up, with Bleacher Report's Dean Jones suggesting that Lukaku could be the perfect buy for United, another club in need of rebuilding this summer:

In hindsight, it would have been sensible of Chelsea to include a buy-back option in the deal that saw Lukaku move to Everton, but their manager at the time, Jose Mourinho, reportedly advised against it, per Matt Law in the Telegraph.

With Mourinho set to be appointed United manager soon, the Portuguese could now reap the rewards of his own error in judgement.

However, there is certainly an argument that Chelsea are right not to shell out £65 million for Lukaku as, despite his prolific goalscoring, he still struggles for consistency—he failed to find the back of the net in his last nine games of the 2015-16 season, per WhoScored.

A more established star, like Gonzalo Higuain or Zlatan Ibrahimovic, may be a better short-term signing for the Blues as they could effectively guarantee a sizeable goal return as Chelsea look to become title challengers once again.

Per Jones, Napoli are demanding £72 million for Higuain, 28, after his record-breaking Serie A season, but the player himself is "hoping" the Italian club lower their asking price.