Pundit Chris Sutton has urged Everton to resign Belgian international Romelu Lukaku to solve the club’s goalscoring woes.
The Champions League finalist returns to Chelsea this summer following his loan spell with Inter, though the 30-year-old’s immediate future remains unclear.
Everton have struggled for goals of late, scoring just 34 Premier League goals last season with Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s injuries ruling him out of all but 17 league games, and the £15m Neal Maupay offering next to nothing in his absence.
Indeed, it is an issue that urgently needs addressing by the Toffees, and Chris Sutton insists a familiar face could be the answer Everton are looking for.
The pundit told 606 on BBC Radio 5 Live Sport: “Everton, a great history, which the club has, if you are a player looking at Everton for the last decade or so, but you would think that there are better options out there.
Sean Dyche would have been thinking about this 24/7 about how to take that next step, with Calvert-Lewin, it’s so frustrating.
We saw when he had a run towards the end of the season, the impact he can have. But Dyche can’t trust him. You have mentioned Maupay and it hasn’t happened for him. It doesn’t look like it will happen for him.
Lukaku, go and get Lukaku. I have said Lukaku and I’ll say it again.”
Lukaku return would be welcomed at Everton, but is entirely unrealistic
Arguably, Lukaku’s best years were at Goodison Park, scoring 87 goals in 166 games in his three-year spell at Everton, prior to his £75m move to Manchester United in 2017.
After an underwhelming time at Old Trafford, Lukaku had his first spell at Inter, scoring 34 goals in all competitions in his debut Serie A season.
After lifting the title the following year, Lukaku returned to Chelsea, where he struggled to adapt at Stamford Bridge and returned to the San Siro on loan for the 2022/23 season.
Contracted at Chelsea until 2026, Mauricio Pochettino reportedly doesn’t see the Belgian in his plans, and will look to offload him this summer, but whether Everton could afford or attract him is another question entirely.