Everton to Sign Romelu Lukaku on 'Permanent Deal from Chelsea for Club Record £28.5m'

Everton have won the race to sign Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku for a club record £28.5m, according to Italian media.

Jose Mourinho sent the 21-year-old out on loan to the Toffeess last season where he scored 15 times in 31 appearances and will permanently dispense of him now Dider Drogba has returned to Stamford Bridge.

The move would be a coup for Everton manager Roberto Martinez, who appears to have shaken off competition from potential suitors including Real Madrid, German side Wolfsburg and Italian league champions Juventus for the Belgian international.

Italian daily La Gazzetta Dello Sport claims the Goodison Park club has agreed the fee with Chelsea and Mourinho has since given the move the green light.

Lukaku has played just ten times for the Blues since signing for £17m from Anderlecht in 2011 and is thought to want a return to Everton now that he appears to have slipped behind Drogba and new signing Diego Costa in Mourinho's pecking order.

His season-long loan to Merseryside followed a successful spell at West Brom the season before and out of the 32 goals Lukaku has scored in English football, none of them have been for parent club Chelsea.

The west London club holds a strong bargaining position over Lukaku as he is contracted with the club until 2016. But a move now seems imminent after reports Mourinho has given the move his blessing.

Everton have so far added midfielders Gareth Barry and Muhamed Besic to their squad on a free transfer and a reported £4m deal respectively. They have also been buoyed by Ross Barkley's signing of a new four-year deal with his boyhood club.

The reported deal for Lukaku would smash Everton's transfer record by more than £10m. Marouane Fellaini joined the club from Standard Liege for £15m in 2008, before being moved on to Manchester United for £27.5m last summer.