Chelsea and Manchester United have been encouraged in their ongoing pursuit of signing Romelu Lukaku after the striker publicly expressed his desire to leave Everton and join a club where he can fulfil his ambition of winning silverwares. It is not the first time the 23-year-old has expressed his desire to leave the Merseyside club as he had admitted that he wants to leave the Toffees.

Everton endured a disappointing 2015/16 campaign as they finished in 11<sup>th spot. The club sacked Roberto Martinez and replaced him with Ronald Koeman, who arrived at Goodison Park from Southampton. The Belgium international scored 18 goals and set up six more goals for his teammates in the league last term.

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Lukaku's form for Everton has seen him attract interest from Chelsea and also Jose Mourinho's United, claims the Daily Mail. It was reported that Everton wants €80m (£63.2m, $90m) from potential buyers in order to part ways with their frontman and the former Blues striker has backed the price tag slapped in the transfer market.

"I'll go to a club that will give me the chance to be part of a great project. I'm only 23, I still have to improve. But I want to win titles, because that's what we remember at the end of a career," Lukaku told GQ Magazine.

"The press has reported a total of 80 million euros (£63.2m, $90m), given the number of goals I've scored the last two seasons and the investment that the Everton club has made in me, it is a price."

"But in fact I do not even know if this is the true price! That's what the media says. I know however that I've scored a lot of goals in my young career. We'll see the price. It will be 80 million euros, maybe less."

Romelu Lukaku Manchester United FC Premier League Chelsea FC