Martinez Targets Lukaku Stay

Martinez Targets Lukaku Stay

Romelu Lukaku is currently having a superlative season at Goodison Park, so much so that Jose Mourinho’s decision to send him out on loan is being questioned. The trio of Chelsea strikers – Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and Samuel Eto’o – have paled in comparison to the performance and consistency maintained by Lukaku, who has scored 13 goals in 25 league appearances.

Chelsea are expected to make waves in the summer transfer window as they eye the likes of Diego Costa and Radamel Falcao, which throws the future of Lukaku up in the air. There is no certainty that the 20-year-old will return to Stamford Bridge at the end of the season, with Mourinho perhaps willing to sell him for a hefty fee.

Martinez has guided Everton to fourth in the table from 33 matches, and if they win all their remaining matches, they will be sure of Champions League football. That could be essential for Lukaku, but Martinez also believes that his ‘happiness’ at Everton could help to seal a move.

According to the Mirror, he said, “He’s a grounded and intelligent young man, who is not going to be swayed by the materialistic aspect of the game. What can we offer him? Just enjoying his football. As a player, happiness is something that is very important. When you can offer football happiness it’s an incredible opportunity.”

It will be interesting to see if Martinez and Lukaku can indeed secure Champions League football for Everton having led them ahead of Arsenal into 4th place after Saturday’s 1-0 win over Sunderland and after thumping the Gunners in a recent 3-0 league clash.