Lukaku withdraws transfer request, will stay at Everton this season

Romelu Lukaku isn't going back to Chelsea.

In his column for De Telegraaf, Ronald Koeman revealed that Lukaku withdrew his transfer request and committed his future to Everton. The Dutch manager subsequently echoed the "great news" while speaking after the Toffees' 2-1 victory Saturday at West Bromwich Albion, acknowledging the Belgian forward could sign a new contract.

Chelsea was reportedly prepared to bring Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge for as much as £70 million, a transfer fee that would smash the £50-million fee the Blues apparently paid for Fernando Torres.

Lukaku joined Chelsea from Anderlecht in 2011, when he was only 18 years old and still had dreadlocks, for a reported fee of around £20 million. But, three years later, the youngster joined Everton on a permanent basis as opportunity with the Blues appeared restricted.

"Ten days before the transfer deadline he came into the manager's office and said he was no longer leaving and had decide to stay at Everton," Koeman wrote in his column, per Sky Sports. "His decision is the same value as a big money transfer. He is not only a good player but a fine person. He lives his football in the fashion that you would want a top footballer to.

"It is great to work with him and I think he had seen that we want to engineer improvement at every corner. To develop him into a really top player is the challenge before me."

Lukaku tallied 18 goals and six assists in the Premier League last season, and was subsequently called up to Belgium's squad for Euro 2016, where he appeared in all five of the Red Devils' matches and scored twice.