Chelsea fail with £57m raid to re-sign 25-goal Premier League hitman

Chelsea have reportedly had a £57m offer rejected in their attempt to re-sign Belgium international forward Romelu Lukaku, according to the Daily Mirror.

The Premier League side, who welcome West Ham United to Stamford Bridge in their 2016/17 English top-flight opener on August 15, have been linked with luring the Everton striker back to London this summer.

Photo: Marc Atkins / Offside.

The 23-year-old, who has 51 international caps for his country and featured for Belgium at the 2016 European Championships in France earlier this month, scored a remarkable 25 goals and provided seven assists in 46 appearances in all competitions for the Toffees last season.

Lukaku, who remains Everton’s club-record signing after arriving at Goodison Park from the Blues on a permanent deal worth £28m back in July 2014, is wanted by new Chelsea boss Antonio Conte ahead of the new domestic term.

The report suggests that Ronald Koeman’s side have already knocked back their opening bid of £57m, with the Toffees holding out for a whopping club-record fee of £75m.

However, they also suggest that the Belgium star is determined to re-join the club he left 24 months ago.