Chelsea are leading the race to sign Romelu Lukaku, though Everton remain confident that the striker’s announcement this week that he will not sign his new deal is not a final decision and can be reversed.
Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo signed Lukaku for Chelsea in 2011 before the player was moved on when Jose Mourinho came back to the club, joining Everton for £28million.
And the Chelsea board is keen to support Antonio Conte next season, with the potential £50m signing of their former player, now 23, seen as a major building block, given that the future of current centre forward Diego Costa remains uncertain.