Everton boss Roberto Martinez discusses Romelu Lukaku's future

Romelu Lukaku

Everton will wait until the end of the season before opening any talks over the future of Romelu Lukaku, with the Belgian forward having enjoyed his loan spell from Chelsea.

Lukaku has had a fine season at Goodison Park as Everton have risen towards the top of the table, but his future with Chelsea remains unclear after a reported falling out with manager Jose Mourinho.

Everton are keen to have him back for a further season and are open to a permanent deal, but they will wait until the season ends before talking to either the player or Chelsea over any potential transfer.

Manager Roberto Martinez told reporters: “We need to finish the season as strong as we can and see what next season brings.

“If next season is only domestic competitions then that is one approach, if it is Europe then it is a completely different approach and it will depend a lot on the three parties’ conversation.

“The parent club has a big say and the player will have a big say. All I’m concentrating on is that the loan has been a big success. That is down to the eight games remaining to fulfill that promise.

“From a football point of view he has found it was perfect to be with us and the influence of having Kevin Mirallas from the national team had a big say.

“It was one of those moments that felt right and I felt he was the perfect player we needed.

“It has been really successful, firstly for Rom in that he has developed the way we wanted and Chelsea are happy with the way we treated their player.

“The next eight games are going to be huge from our point of view, but also for Rom’s as well.”