The staff at Chelsea’s megastore had given an indirect indication of Romelu Lukaku or Thibaut Courtois leaving the club, after the staff were directed not to print shirts with the pair’s names on the back, as reported by the Daily Star.

Chelsea are midway through their preseason tour, and Jose Mourinho is firming up his squad to challenge for the Barclays Premier League title next season. However, as a result of signing multiple foreign players, the manager had the dilemma of selling one foreign player from the current squad to adhere to the Premier League squad rules. Both Lukaku and Courtois are foreign players, and Chelsea cannot afford to rely on Petr Cech as the only goalkeeper for the season.

Lukaku had been linked with a permanent move to Everton for the balance of the year, and his successful loan spell at Goodison Park prompted the Belgian to want a permanent move to Merseyside. Roberto Martinez has struck the right chords with players at Everton, and there is a great level of trust each player has in the manager. With the Chelsea squad building under Mourinho and the form of Courtois, it seems Lukaku, who has only made a handful of appearances for the Blues, was really the only candidate from the two to be heading for the Chelsea exit.

Courtois, on the other hand, has never played for Chelsea in a competitive match since joining the club, and has spent three seasons on loan at Atletico Madrid. The Belgian played a crucial role in last year’s title winning campaign under Diego Simeone and clearly Mourinho wants to utilize his superb skills for Chelsea now.