Tottenham to open Lukaku talks as his agent hints at Chelsea exit possibility

The Romelu Lukaku rumors are everywhere today. According to Metro, Tottenham Hotspur are 'ready to open talks' over the potential purchase of Lukaku. Of course, they probably would have been ready to open talks at any time Chelsea indicated that they were interested in selling, but there are apparently strong indications now that this is the case.

Spurs' opening bid is apparently going to be £15m, and surprise, that won't be good enough. Here's what Metro had to say.

"The Blues will want more, with loan club Everton along with Atletico Madrid likely to show an interest, and Lukaku's agent said this week that his client is facing an uncertain few months."

That comment about Lukaku's agent? Worth noting, since he's been talking quite a bit recently. The Daily Mail had some fairly extensive quotes from him. He hedged and made sure to note that Lukaku is a Chelsea player, that he respects the fact that he's under contract and that he wants a future at Chelsea if that possibility exists, but made it pretty clear that Lukaku would like to leave if he's not going to play.

"He has two years left on his contract. It's going to depend on Chelsea. After that, we'll see together what the best options are if Chelsea decide to let him go. That they want to bring in a big-name striker has been well-documented. But Chelsea need lots of great strikers. And if there are too many, they'll choose to allow Romelu to leave. But if they think there aren't enough forwards, perhaps Romelu will say, 'I'm interested in prolonging the adventure'. But it's still too soon."

A Lukaku transfer looks quite realistic at the moment. Jose Mourinho's been clear in the past about not thinking Lukaku is the right fit for the team, though he might have changed his mind based on how good the Belgian has been at Everton this season.

But in any event, it's not time to get your hopes up. He's going to cost significantly more than £15m and there will be steep competition, from more teams than just Atléti and Everton.