Manchester United: Romelu Lukaku valued at £65m by Everton amid interest from Red Devils

Manchester United will have to break the British transfer record if they are to have any chance of landing current Premier League top scorer Romelu Lukaku this summer. Everton are determined to hold on to the prolific forward and will resist any offers from top clubs across Europe.

According to The Sun, the Red Devils will have to pay a fee of around £65m ($92m) to have a chance of signing the Belgium international, which is considerably more than the £59.7 ($84.4m) they paid for Angel Di Maria, which is the current British transfer record. The Manchester club, however, will face competition as Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and former employer Chelsea are all said to be monitoring the situation with a view to a potential summer move.

The 22-year-old forward has been in fine form for the Toffees this season and has already notched up 19 goals in all competitions. He is the joint leader in the Premier League scoring charts alongside Jamie Vardy, which has attracted interest from the Premier League big guns, who are struggling for a consistent goal scorer this season. Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial have managed just 21 goals between them in all competitions, prompting Louis van Gaal to begin the search for a striker in the summer.

Lukaku, who moved from Chelsea to Everton for a club-record fee during the summer of 2014, has made it clear that despite being happy at Everton he is keen on playing for a top club in the Champions League. Roberto Martinez is aware of the interest from the big clubs but the report claims that the Goodison Park club will stand firm and resist any offers, like they did with John Stones when they rejected a number of bids from the Stamford Bridge outfit in the summer. The Belgian forward is contracted to the club until the summer of 2019, which gives them the advantage in negotiations with interested clubs.