Romelu Lukaku has admitted he is expecting to leave Everton this summer “and knows where he wants to go”.
Speculation over the Belgium striker’s future has been mounting, with his former club Chelsea interested in bringing him back to Stamford Bridge. Last week, Lukaku’s father Roger revealed that he would like the 23-year-old to move to either Manchester United or Bayern Munich, adding that he expected the deal to be struck before the start of Euro 2016.
Now Lukaku himself has added fuel to the fire by suggesting he would be open to leaving the Premier League. “In my head I know where I want to go but I’m keeping that to myself,” he said. “You will know when it is concluded. I have to make a good choice but in my head that has happened already. I have played [in England] for five years now, it’s my league. But there are other nice clubs. I follow Spanish and German football and I also have something for the Italian league.
“Wherever I go I want to win prizes,” he added. “During Leicester’s title ceremony I was standing just 10 metres from the trophy. I just stared at it for two minutes, forgetting to get on with the warm-up. I thought to myself, I want that.”
Lukaku, who scored 18 Premier League goals as Everton ended the season in 11th place, also admitted that there was a breakdown in the relationship between the players and their former manager Roberto Martínez.
“The team did not perform at all. We won two of our last 11 games. When things are broken between the manager and the players it become difficult,” Lukaku said as he began preparations with Belgium for next month’s European Championship.
