Chelsea Transfer News: Romelu Lukaku Comments Amid Everton Contract Rumours

Everton striker and reported Chelsea target Romelu Lukaku has suggested he's not ready to sign a contract extension at Goodison Park yet.

Lukaku's agent, Mino Raiola, told TalkSport last week that a new deal was imminent for the Belgium international striker. However, when asked by Play Sports (h/t Het Laatste Nieuws' Kristof Terreur) about the fresh terms on Saturday following Everton's 3-0 win over West Bromwich Albion, the man himself was a lot more coy:

According to Simon Johnson of the Evening Standard, Lukaku is one of Chelsea's two main transfer targets this summer, the other being Real Madrid's Alvaro Morata.

As noted by Terreur in a follow-up post on social media, Lukaku does have a big grin on his face when answering the question and is flanked by Everton's head of media and communications Brian Doogan. So perhaps the Belgium forward is being a little mischievous.

Nevertheless, the quotes attributed to the forward will do little to calm Evertonians who are desperate to see their star man commit his future to the club.

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Lukaku has been in awesome form in front of goal this season, with his header against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday the 19th time he's struck in the Premier League in 2016-17.

As we can see here courtesy of the division's Twitter account, no player has scored more:

The 23-year-old has certainly excelled under the watchful eye of Everton boss Ronald Koeman, keeping Everton in touch with the Premier League's top six.

Lukaku may not be the hardest worker, nor the best with his back to goal, but when the ball drops to him in the area, he is a ruthless finisher. He can score so many different types of goals, as he's proficient on either foot and improving in the air.

Given his astonishing goalscoring ratio, perhaps it's no surprise that Chelsea are interested in taking him back to the club. Here's how he compares this season in the top flight with the Blues' own star man, Diego Costa:

	Lukaku	Costa
Apps (Sub)	26 (1)	25
Goals	19	17
Assists	5	5
Shots per game	2.7	3
Key passes per game	1.4	1.2
Dribbles per game	1.9	1.8

As noted by Johnson, there has been some talk that Costa could be on his way out of the club come the end of the season, with teams from the Chinese Super League and his former side Atletico Madrid linked.

While there are stylistic differences, Lukaku has shown enough to suggest he could replace Costa's goals at least. Per Terreur, the Belgian is improving season upon season:

Raiola has been particularly forthright in his opinion that Lukaku will agree terms with Everton, and for the time being, the striker seems to be enjoying life at Goodison Park under Koeman. However, unless Everton push on and challenge for the top spots in the division, there will always be speculation linking the striker with a move away.

It's why the club will be desperate to pin Lukaku down before the end of the season. If Chelsea do move Costa on and target their former forward, Everton will be in a much stronger position to dig their heels in or demand a massive fee if the striker is tied to the club for the long-term.