Everton 'Angry' at Romelu Lukaku's Training Absence Amid Manchester United Talk

Everton manager Ronald Koeman was reportedly "fuming" and his club left "angry" after striker Romelu Lukaku failed to report for pre-season training on Thursday.

Matt Lawton and Chris Wheeler reported for the Daily Mail that Lukaku didn't show up for pre-season training because he is on holiday with Red Devils midfielder Paul Pogba in Los Angeles, much to the dismay of Koeman:

That's not to say Lukaku isn't taking part in some pre-season practice of his own, however, after Urban Soccer 5 Center released footage of both him and Pogba playing some five-a-side during their travels:

Images also surfaced of the duo training alongside one another despite Everton's call to arms, via MailOnline:

United are said to believe they have an agreement in place to sign the forward for a fee somewhere in the region of £75 million, with the player set to sign a five-year deal worth more than £200,000 per week.

Lukaku scored 25 goals in 37 Premier League games last season, and former United defender Phil Neville predicted success for his old club if the Belgian can reproduce those figures at Old Trafford, via BBC 5 live Sport:

Lukaku's prospective new employers are working to get the transfer over the line and hope to hold his medical in Los Angeles so he can remain there and join up with his new team-mates for pre-season on Sunday.

Lawton and Wheeler took note of Pogba's hand in convincing the Belgium international to stay in the north-west, and sportswriter Adam Joseph showed the pair have bonded over the course of their break:

"

Agent Paul Pogba getting in his preseason work with Romelu Lukaku. pic.twitter.com/l99k2Ok0lU

— Adam Joseph (@AdamJosephSport) July 7, 2017"

Koeman was reportedly stonewalled in his attempts to call Lukaku on Thursday, and the indication is there that he could not return to Goodison Park in his attempt to force through a summer exit.

This is the second successive summer in which Pogba and Lukaku have been pictured spending part of their holidays together, and Ball Street commented on how much the pair have risen since last year's meet-up:

Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata was also linked with the Red Devils and was thought to be closing in on a move until interest in a £75 million deal for Lukaku suddenly spiked.

ESPN FC's Rob Dawson commented on Real's supposed surprise at United's U-turn:

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's tenure at Old Trafford was brought to an abrupt end when he suffered a serious knee injury toward the end of last season, forcing the club back into the transfer market to recruit a world-class attacker.

Everton might have considered themselves capable of convincing Lukaku to remain on Merseyside after a fast start to the summer transfer window showed the Toffees mean business ahead of the 2017-18 season.

However, any refusal to train with the team is typically a precursor to a parting of the ways, and a fuming Koeman seemingly has to decide how much he wants to retain the player's services.