No resolution of Lukaku situation until after the World Cup

First time in a VERY long age that I look to the manager and do not think that I know better than Roberto does.

As a little aside, when I renewed my season ticket I was chatting with the girl who took the details, what she said about Roberto was awe inspiring
She openly said that everybody loves him to pieces, he’s warm, polite and wherever he goes there’s a buzz of excitement
When I asked about the predecessor, she simply said "Roberto always smiles at EVERYONE, not avoids their gaze"

The overwhelming impression was simply that Roberto isn’t showing up for the cameras.......it’s just who he is

Superb chat with someone who ADORES Everton and works for Everton
THAT convo alone was worth the season card fee

Alcaraz, as a free I thought was worth a spin, who knows what John Stones may have learned from him in training ? We have all like and also winced at his performances

Kone, has to rate as disappointing so far and hasn’t many more "top seasons" left in his armoury

Robles, well as ’Keepers go 24 is still a rookie. However, when he arrived I was quite encouraged, I felt he had promise, pretty sure that I don’t feel that any longer

Overall these 3 weren’t hideously expensive IF they all prove to be mistakes

But, I do think that James McCarthy has justified his fee, tireless & understated. Half a dozen goals a season and we’d be looking at a 25-30M player

Since Alcaraz cost nothing I can’t complain. Personally I think we’ll bin him in the summer. Kone hasn’t played so lets wait and see. As for Robles. Well sub goalies are exactly that, sub goalies. You can’t keep a top class goalie on the bench so the sub is always second best. Although as far as I know he’s still the only player in the squad with a cup winners medal.

I would have problems with McGeady though. He’s a born bench warmer and I hope RM will be looking a better quality players than him this summer.

He also, barring injury or a complete disaster in terms of loss of form, offers a good financial bet. Even if he doesn’t completely work out, in 2-3 years time he’s still going to be a young striker with a very high resale value - i.e. his value is likely to at worst stay the same as a purchase price, and at best increase significantly.

Robles looks uncertain, although again is not first choice. Good enough backup, well we have had a lot worst. I’d be comfortable we could recover part or all of the transfer fee when we come to get a real No1. Like Begovic.

Kone, just not seen enough. He got injured early days before we got up and running also, so I can’t see he’s a dead loss just yet. Imagine he will be from the bench next season, and could be a decent option next to a Lukaku type.

So these 3 are squad fillers at an outlay of what ~£9m. I just hope to see Roberto sign 2 or 3 players that go straight in, through the spine of the side.

If we’re going to spend that kind of money, I’d rather bring in Wilfred Bony.

Not sure how we would feel about Roberto if any deal was done involving either or both players.

But I expect Everton players and Roberto to be linked all over the place for a long time.

As for the other lads, well Robles is a young keeper who will only get better with experience. And Kone, ohhhhhh Kone. Have we seen enough of him in a blue shirt to make a sound judgement? I don’t think so.

Sorry, I forgot this was about Lukaku. We all know Roberto loves him and rates him very highly but how long will Roberto wait until his situation becomes clear? Can we afford to wait until late July for example? Don’t we need a guarantee from the player and his club for us to wait so long? We could end up without Lukaku, Bony and Remy if we wait too long.

Tim Howard and Gareth Barry (if we can count him) also have FA Cup winners medals.

That’s almost half a team, managed by a cup-winning one. McGeady probably also won cup in Scotland.

We are a team of winners!

£20m this day and age seems good price to me.

Robles due to Howards good form has also not had many chances, he’s only 24 and although he flapped at a cross or two in one game, he also made some excellent full length saves. Cant remember a goal that you could blame him for.

Alcaraz if you look again at the matches he’s played in he was no worse defensively than Jags and Stones, I think hes been made to carry the can on here, because Jags is skipper and Stones can do no wrong!

Martinez had these players for at least 1 season maybe longer so he should know what their capabilities are, + as Brien says all 3 + McCarthy have Cup winners medals from last year, so lets not be so hasty to slag them off.

I would like Barry but he is not worth the wages he was on at City. I hope they win tonight though!

Getting back to Lukaku. He isn’t worth £20M even if we could afford to spend that much on a single player. Didn’t I see an article on here regarding Traore? Is there some movement on that front. Could he not be a cheaper alternative to Lukaku?

Lukaku is worth all of £20m in my opinion, because physically he’s also a powerhouse, he’s only 20 and so has time to work on his control etc and improve a great deal.

It depends how much RM has to spend this summer though, chances are he wont have the luxury of spending £20m on one player. Oh to be an Everton supporter.

Somehow I don’t think we will see him in Everton colours next year, love to be wrong, but I fear he’ll get a better offer off some money bags club.

I know he’s young and maybe he’ll develop further, but I worry that if he’s not hungry for those games now, will he been in a few years time? He’s thinking about the future and where he thinks he belongs (I.e. the Champions League) instead of concentrating on where he is now and what he should be doing. £20 mil is too much for my liking.

Are you thick? Or do you deliberately misspell the man’s name every time you write it?

It’s more than a misspelling actually, you just get his name wrong every single time you comment on him. I’m convinced you do it just to wind people up... and it works.

You’re bang on. How can anyone criticise Kone when he has hardly kicked a ball is beyond me. This guy will be like a new signing for next season.

Alcaraz, in my opinion, is a good footballer. If he is given the time and space, he has an eye for a pass, but you don’t get the time in the Premier League. The downside is his age, the fitness problems, and he has no speed. He looks like he has not got the toughness required to play for a club that is challenging to break into the top 4.

Robles will get better, I’m sure with game time. Next season will be a lot tougher for Martinez, he will know this and so should all of us Evertonians; I cannot wait!

These days, £20 Mil is not megabucks for a PROVEN Premier League striker, let alone one with a decade plus ahead of him.

Shake off the "teaspoon to a bunfight" mentality and dare to believe... Just give it a go for 24 hrs.

I for one would be interested in Lukaku. There HAS been some inconsistency in his game from time to time but I chalk that up to this being his first real season of playing week in and week out. I know he played a full season at WBA, but I think someone on this board said he made a lot of substitute appearances; and if that’s the case-those minutes add up and it takes time to physically develop the endurance able to sustain consistent form in such a physically demanding league. I think we’ve seen that with Barkley. It’s his first full season on the senior squad and some games he was unstoppable, while in others he’s hardly noticeable.

But with regard to Romelu; as much as I would love to see it happen, I can’t imagine a feasible scenario where it would. 20 million is the reported fee (could be crap but probably in the ballpark), he’s 20 years old and will be leading the line for a Belgium team that could do some serious damage in Brazil. If he has a successful World Cup, they’ll be so much money thrown at Chelsea for his services. I don’t know what the revenue is for some of these teams, but you’d have to figure that Juventus could come up with the money, the Milan clubs, Monaco wouldn’t need him but might still want him, Borussia Dortmund, etc. Unless Roberto has secretly stashed 20 million in the ground somewhere, or Romelu has some contractual escape clause or high influence which is highly unlikely; I just don’t see this coming off and I’d worry that Roberto might miss out on other targets waiting for this one.

If he grows his hair back find 20 million and get him in.

If he goes high and tight then send him back to Chelsea.

The boy needs his hair back. It was directly tied to his mojo.

Should Sheikh Yamoney turn up in the next few weeks, I think he’ll be a certainty. Otherwise, most unlikely. And why a certainty? I went to YouTube to remind myself, and boy, was I reminded.

So now he has two choices: play for a club that has taken him to their hearts, be the main man, progress his career, and improve as a footballer under a manager who really rates him.

Or follow the money trail??

If he goes for the second option, we’re better off without him!

The loan fee we are paying for Lukaku is pretty big; Ba maybe cheaper. This is ’net spend’ Everton still, and how I’d love to be proven wrong.

As it is, Chelsea are no mugs, being on the world stage at the World Cup will increase his profile and value, even if he doesn’t score, and Chelsea want to get as much cash for him as possible so will only do business once Belgium are knocked out.

I can see him being sold abroad or to a club like Spurs for £15m+.... even if we could match the transfer fee, I doubt we could match the wages...

In saying that, we were all over the moon to see Roberto Martinez bring him unexpectedly to Goodison Park last August and I expect Roberto to bring another striker of that quality in again – be it a Michu type permanent signing of another loanee.

All transfers are gambles of one sort or another. Bony does seem like a better deal if he is available for less money, but Lukaku could surpass him if he continues to learn / develop and Bony may not fit into our system or click with he manager as well.

At some stage you just have to trust that the manager does the best he can with whatever options the board are able to present him with. I am hoping that the quiet January window was a deal between the manager and the board in order to give him significant funds to spend without having to sell any assets other than those who are deemed surplus to requirements.

We will need to strengthen our defence to combat injuries so, if possible, I would like to see Lescott come back. As for strikers, what about giving Vellios a go? Like Barkley, he is big and strong and not without skills,

I would just like to commiserate with the fans of Tranmere... I very much hope Rovers can get back ’up there’ and give their loyal following the type of football they deserve when Dixie was playing for them.

That Lukaku on a permanent is a no-goer and we are taking Ba on loan instead, and / or that Everton are still a ’net spend’ outfit?

I just find it bizarre that he said in public tonight that he was after Ba originally, but jumped at the chance of Lukaku when offered.

I think most people at the time thought Ba may be available on loan because Chelsea would actually be making use of Lukaku, so I don’t think anyone will be too surprised at the actual turn of events.

What if we’re stuck with Kone and Vellios come August? We’d bite Chelsea’s hand off for Ba.

Lukaku could smash it in Brazil, Benteke is injured so he could play a fair bit, and let’s say for example Juve bid cash for him? Silly season is coming, and I hope we get lucky again if we loan.

Surely a new kit released in time with a big name on the back is just pie in the sky?

Alcaraz isn't a regular and is a pretty good CB, his ball playing skills are far better than Jags and Distin. It does seem that Jags gets away with alot. He isn't vocal, is often caught out of position and seems beyond criticism. Stones has had a brilliant season but has been sluggish of late and was woeful at Southampton.

Lukaku at £15m would be an excellent purchase but we arent cash rich and Roberto has to get the transfers right. Kone is an unknown as of yet, Robles will never get the game time to find out about and Macca has been superb for us this season.

I don't see him coming unless he has a poor World Cup and Jose wants rid on the cheap.

Lukaku is not too far off his full potential as he is now (that's probably Jose's opinion), he's not worth the gamble at £15m plus.

Come on Roberto kill this one now and move on.

Talk of Vellios being given yet another chance is ridiculous. He could not get a game in a very poor Blackpool team and his attitude has been less than acceptable. We must move on from these sort of players and I want to see the backs of Vellios, Junior and Gueye, none of whom would get a game in any other Premier League club. We need real players who can excite the fans and bring proper optimism and entertainment.

"Good hopefully he has gone elsewhere by then. No way we should be blowing £20m on him. Horribly one footed and has looked more like Heskey of late. A big pass. "

He reminded me of someone, but I just couldn't pull it out.

No way should we be paying £20m plus, we could probably get Bony for that much and he looks much more of a complete player, there's no gamble with him.

Anyway back to Lukaku, theres no doubt the guy has got talent but for me his work rate has to be much better.

Steve Naismith, what a guy, always making runs, runs through brick walls for the team and never gives up, what he lacks in overall skill he more than makes up for with determination.

It's no coincidence when Naismith is on the bench, Lukaku doesn't seem to put as much effort in, I am not sure if seeing Naismith come on and gets stuck in either inspires or embarresses Lukaku, he seems to step up a gear the moment Naismith is on the pitch.

I would be tempted to get Winifred Bony if we cannot agree a decent price for Lukaku.

Let's hope my writing meets approval by most, do not fancy doing 100 lines.

I'd actually be pretty surprised if Chelsea keep him, and think they're more likely to buy Diego Costa and sell Lukaku.

He's just not a Mourinho type player - he definitely doesn't work hard enough or track back enough, which was the biggest reason Mourinho flogged Mata to Utd. Yes they might get other offers for him, and if a CL club comes in then perhaps we're scuppered, but if he's available we should definitely sign the kid. He's 20, knows the club, clearly enjoys it with us and knows he'll get a game and score goals.

So what if his touch is a bit shit at times, he just scored 14 goals in one of the toughest leagues in the world. At 20.

I'd bite their hands off at £20m in todays market. He'll also have plenty of resale value if we keep him for 3 or 4 years = good business.

Surely Bony will come at less than £20m?

If we have a 30million budget, then I'd willingly see us spend 15-20mil of it on Lukaku. We can't spend it all, because our squad is too small. But I'd have him in a minute. And as far as the suggestion that he is not good enough because Jose let him go out on loan....really? This is the same Jose who has criticised his remaining strikers all season. The same Jose who let Mata, Chelski's best attacking player for the last two seasons, leave, because of his preference for Oscar, who has been in and out of the team since January, and has not performed this year (fatigue reasons admitted). The same Jose, who has failed time and time again to break down attacking teams despite an array of attacking midfielders at his disposal. The same Jose who decided it was a good idea to criticise Chelsea's most valuable asset, and who left him on the bench for the must win game against Norwich. Jose is a tactical genius, but he has made plenty of dodgy decisions with regards to attacking players in his time, and has also failed to get the best out of certain strikers.

Lukaku's worth is there in goals. 31 Premier league goals in the last 2 seasons, and he isn't even 21.

What about crosses into the box, he has scored a few this season with his head, but its a part of his game that could be exploited a lot more in my opinion, he will mature into a physical monster in a year or two.
Roberto doesn't seem to favour the ball off the ground I know but I'm sure we could exploit crosses more in the future.

As far as Bony is concerned if your only seeing him on highlights programmes, they can make me look good on them and it takes me 5mins to get up the stairs.
Not disputing that he seems a decent player, but a better buy than Lukaku, no way.

"It's amazing that so many people are critiquing Lukaku, whilst Robert's claim that he is not far off his potential, is pure baseless supposition. How many players peak at 20?"

In the professional game top managers generally have a very good Idea of how far a player can go at age 20, I know Jose does (that's why he's won what he has). I'll go with Jose on this one (and I think that's where the smart money is also), Roberto will not pay big money for him and wants him at realistic price (12-15m to mitigate the risk), but he won't get him.

Before you start claiming that other people are making baseless suppositions and then go off on a grandiloquent speech full of baseless suppositions of your own, you should read the posts properly next time. If you had you'd have seen I said he's close to his peak and not there yet.

Me thinks you should take off your rose tinted specs and have a good look at £20-30m Lukaku who just about got into double figures in a very good attacking team as the lead striker. Had Roberto have played Naismith as much as Lukaku, I think Naismith would have found the net more often this season,

Next. How do know that Jose does not rate Lukaku's potential? Have you been speaking with him recently? Does letting a player go out on loan to a top premier league team, where he outscores every Chelski striker, mean he doesn't believe he has potential? Or does it mean he believes he is not ready for the first team?

Lukaku scores goals. It's as simple as that. He did it Belgium, and he did it for two successive seasons in the Premier League. He scored 17 for WBA, from 20 starts. He has weaknesses to his game, and these are obvious. He has a rawness to him. But these are exactly the qualities that can improve him.

Funnily enough, this rawness was also an aspect of Drogba's game. The same Drogba who in his 8 seasons with Chelski scored over 14 Premier League goals in only two of them. He was a beast. Unplayable at times. But he was raw, he was inconsistent, and he was was criticised. Do not let the retrospective highlights fool you.

Some of us are squabbling over Lukaku on here. He is 20. Try not to forget that. How many 20 years old led the line for top clubs? How many 20 year olds have scored better than 1 in 2 top league starts before the age of 21? With the physical strength, and speed, to not just be as good as Drogba, but better than Drogba.

It's incredible how some of us on here keep forgetting he is 20. He is playing now because of his physical strength, and his brilliance. But the majority of players are not complete at 20, and Lukaku is no exception.

I don't think 13 or 14 goals a season is anything to be to worried about even from a lower league player. Because the players I have already mentioned have scored double that amount. Be it in a lower division, they still know where the net is.

Give them a chance, and then call them if they don't succeed. But one things for sure we won't have wasted millions on someone we thought should have scored just because their Premier strikers.

I think buying abroad is cheaper honestly, and has a better success rate now English football has become more 'European'. He is the wrong end of 20 now, but I'd love to see how Jonathan Soriano would do in England, and I'd doubt he'd cost more than a few million, and 40,000 in wages. Barca and Real's B team's have concealed alot of really useful players before they've emerged at other clubs.

There's a striker Assombolonga at Peterborough United (might have spelt it wrong), scored 21 goals. Now I think he could do a job for us. (I'm repeating myself.) I've followed him for a couple of seasons now and I like him. And Liam Moore, a defender at Leicester – watch him next season.

There are lots of players around that could do a job for us and affordable to us to. Jim, you're right about Barca and Real's B team so why aren't we checking them out then? Is Sharpy still scouting for us? Do you ever write in to the scouts with suggestions on players? I've done it.

Our kid lives in Aussie and watches Brisbane Roar. You heard of them? I watch them on BT sometimes, good side. I sent a couple of names in to them from BR. I didn't even get a reply saying piss off. I'd like to ask a scout, what do they see that we don't?