London: Chelsea are willing to listen to offers for Daniel Sturridge, with Everton the latest club to show an interest, as they remain on course to sign Belgian wonderkid Romelu Lukaku, Goal.com has learned.
New Stamford Bridge manager Andre Villas-Boas privately acknowledges that it is unworkable for the club to retain five senior forwards as well as sign Lukaku from Anderlecht.
Goal.com understands that Chelsea are still strongly pursuing a move for Lukaku and that negotiations for the 18-year-old will continue this week.
They are being led by Anderlecht general manager Herman van Holsbeeck, who was in London last week and is hopeful of wrapping up a deal within weeks.
Reports last week had suggested that Arsenal were poised to hijack Chelsea's attempts to sign Lukaku, but Goal.com understands that interest from the Emirates never went any further than an initial enquiry.
Anderlecht are holding out for a £ 22 million package for Lukaku, although they accept that around £ 4.5m of that will be made up of performance-related add-ons. Talks have centred on how much the Belgian club will receive up front for a player that Chelsea first tried to sign as a 13-year-old and who they have been closely following for the last 12 months.
It has been reported that Lukaku's father, Roger, a former professional footballer, holds a 25 per cent stake in the economic rights of his son, who signed a new Anderlecht contract last year. However, sources close to the family have denied that the Belgian club will have to hand over a percentage of any deal.
Although Villas-Boas has described Sturridge as "a very interesting player with a big future", the player's camp are pushing for a significant role at the club this season or a move away from Stamford Bridge, either on loan or permanently.
With Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou all potentially ahead of Sturridge in the pecking order, the 21-year-old has been the subject of great interest from mid-ranking Premier League clubs following his productive loan spell at Bolton Wanderers last season.
Bolton boss Owen Coyle is keen on another loan deal for a player who scored eight goals in 12 games for the Trotters last season, while Stoke City and West Brom have also been linked with the forward.
Newcastle United are distancing themselves from a move for Sturridge but Goal.com understands that Everton manager David Moyes is a big admirer and has made initial enquiries.
Moyes is keen on effective back-up for the injury-prone Louis Saha but needs to sort out the future of Nigerian striker Yakubu, who is considered expendable at Goodison Park.
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