Anderlecht star Romelu Lukaku has had a 15m Euro price tag slapped onto his head – approximately £13.1m – and Chelsea are believed to be weighing up matching that figure with a bid.
So far, the Stamford Bridge team have been reluctant to go above 11m Euros, with Lukaku not quite matching the form that made the world sit up and take notice as early as 2008.
Anderlecht general manager Herman van Holsbeeck has confirmed the club are in talks with Chelsea.
“There is still a long way to go in the negotiations,” said van Holsbeeck in June.
“We are indeed negotiating with Chelsea, but there are other clubs we are talking to.
“It could happen in the next half hour, it could take until 31 August – that is football.”
However, Andre Villas Boas has previously poured scorn on a possible striker move.
“To bring in another forward, at the moment I don’t think we will,” the Portuguese manager stated to the press last month.
“Lukaku had a magnificent season in Belgium. We are pondering every decision because we don’t want to go into the market and make mistakes.
“We have plenty of availability in terms of forwards who can play in different positions – with [Nicolas] Anelka, with [Salomon] Kalou, Didier [Drogba], [Fernando] Torres and [Daniel] Sturridge.
“This is the reality at the moment of our squad. We need to find the correct balance and this is why pre-season is important.”
Villas Boas is right of course, but Lukaku is still just 18, and surely his value is only going to exponentially rise.
Could getting him at £13m prove good business acumen?
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