Everton target £18m-rated striker Nicolai Jorgensen as Romelu Lukaku closes in on Chelsea move

Everton are preparing an offer for Feyenoord striker Nicolai Jorgensen as a possible replacement for Romelu Lukaku.

With Lukaku closing in on a move to Chelsea, the Merseyside club have been identifying targets to replace the Belgian.

According to Danish publication BT, Ronald Koeman has earmarked Jorgensen as the player to take over from Lukaku and is ready to offer £18m (€20.5m, $22.9m) for his services.

Jorgensen notably scored 25 goals in 42 games in all competitions for Feyenoord last season, including 21 league goals as the 26-year-old helped the club to their first Eredivisie title since 1999.

The Danish international joined the club only last summer in a €3.5m (£3m, $3.9m) move from FC Copenhagen and finished Eredivisie as the top scorer in his first season. He also contributed with 17 assists in all competitions.

Along with his impressive output for club, Jorgensen has also scored seven goals in 21 caps for the Denmark national team.

Everton have already spent £53m (€60.5m, $67.5m) this summer with their signings of Jordan Pickford and Davy Klassen but with the club expected to receive a fee in the region of £75m (€85.65m, $95.6m) for Lukaku, it looks likely that the spending will continue.

While his agent, Mikkel Nissen did not reveal which clubs were interested in his client, he did however, confirm to BT that there is a real interest in Jorgensen: "The interest is generally great, but I will not comment on specific club names."

Oddly enough, Jorgensen had a trial with Everton's Merseyside rivals Liverpool in 2005 as a 14-year-old as his father Lars revealed.

"When Nicolai was 14, he was one of the best players in Scandinavia," Lars Jorgensen told Holland's FC Update, as quoted on HITC. "He had been running at a two-week trial at Liverpool."

"When he came back, the pressure was too great for a boy of 14. It was a mistake of mine to him which side to send him."