Everton set £65 million price tag on Romelu Lukaku

In a move seen largely as making any move for Romelu Lukaku unattainable this window or in the summer. The Toffees have informed teams, according to The Sun, that any bid under £65 million will not be considered. That is a hefty price tag, but an encouraging sign that the team is going to stand firm. Everton have struggled to secure a top notch striker for a long time and have been grasping at aging forwards for years hoping to scrape a 20 goal season out of any of them. Now they finally have one and aren't ready to see him go.

Without another reliable striker in the system the team would be forced to rush to find a replacement for Lukaku if any move goes through. With only 12 days left in the window Everton has decided to make it a tough sell for any team to try a last minute bid to unsettle the player and ensure team stability.

It's tough to say if any team would even consider a bid that high for Lukaku, but safe to say a £30 million bid now won't even get an answer from the club. The timing of this announcement is important as well as it confirms Roberto Martinez is not interested in being a selling club. It comes right on the heels of selling an underused player in Steven Naismith and sets to remind teams that first side players are not on the table.