Ronald Koeman says Romelu Lukaku future in Everton's hands
Thursday 17 November 2016 16:37, UK
Ronald Koeman says it is his responsibility to turn Everton into the kind of club worthy of Romelu Lukaku's talent.
Koeman raised eyebrows during the international break by admitting his star striker may have to leave Goodison Park to fulfil his potential as a player.
But the Toffees boss, who persuaded Lukaku to stay on last summer, clarified that position at his press conference ahead of Saturday's game against Swansea.
"What we want to show Romelu is that we will be bigger and we will fight for titles," said Koeman, who claimed his earlier comments had been "taken out of context".
"He is only 23 and even if he stays for more years, that is not bad for his career. There is a lot of interest in the player of course, but the player needs to make the decision.
"But what I have to do is keep him for as long as possible in the club."
Koeman already has an eye on the January transfer window and again confirmed his interest in Memphis Depay, who is struggling for minutes under Jose Mourinho at Manchester United.
"First of all, what I don't like is I got a question but he is a Manchester united player," he said. "If there is any possibility, of course I'm interested because I was when I was at Southampton. That has not changed.
"The rest is that we need to wait and prepare ourselves. Of course we will do some business in January. There has been no contact between the clubs."
Koeman's immediate focus is Swansea's visit, and he expects Leighton Baines and James McCarthy to be available.
Both were missing for the 5-0 defeat at Chelsea, which Koeman called "unacceptable", and he said: "You can lose but not in the manner we lost. I am really optimistic we will get a good reaction."
