Transfer Centre

Ronald Koeman 'will do everything' to keep Romelu Lukaku at Everton

By Daniel Lewis, Senior ReporterPublished: 09 April 2017 5:29 PM

Koeman 'will do everything' to keep Lukaku

Ronald Koeman acknowledges that the final decision over Romelu Lukaku's future will come down to the player himself, but is hopeful of persuading him to stay in place.

Everton manager Ronald Koeman has said that he will do all he possibly can to keep Romelu Lukaku at the club this summer, but admits that he could be powerless to do so.

The 23-year-old revealed last month that he intends to join a club that can regularly compete for silverware both domestically and on the European stage.

Lukaku has not backtracked on those comments since, reiterating that he has no desire to extend his stay at Goodison Park, which leaves the Toffees open to the prospect of losing out on millions should they not cash in this summer.

Koeman saw his star striker score two more goals in Sunday's 4-2 win over Leicester City, taking his tally for the season to 23 in the Premier League, and he is still holding out hope of persuading the big Belgian to commit to Everton.

"Romelu Lukaku is one of the best strikers in the world and I think the boy is improving in different aspects," he told BBC Sport. "I can't change him in how he needs to finish. In my opinion he's the best finisher.

"Everybody knows he's a key player for Everton and we will try to do everything to keep him here but the final decision is always with the player. Everyone knows he has his own ambition but we will try our best."

Lukaku leads the way in the English top flight scoring charts, sitting four goals ahead of Harry Kane and five in front of Alexis Sanchez.