Ronald Koeman: 'Romelu Lukaku has withdrawn transfer request'

Everton manager Ronald Koeman has revealed that Romelu Lukaku has withdrawn his transfer request and committed his future to the Toffees.

The 23-year-old had reportedly asked for a move away from Goodison Park and was linked with a return to former club Chelsea during the summer.

Koeman, however, wrote in his column in Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf: "Ten days before the transfer deadline he came into the manager's office and said he was no longer leaving and had decided to stay at Everton.

"His decision is the same value as a big-money transfer. He is not only a good player but a fine person. He lives his football in the fashion that you would want a top footballer to.

"It is great to work with him and I think he had seen that we want to engineer improvement at every corner. To develop him into a really top player is the challenge before me."

Lukaku has scored 43 league goals for the Toffees since moving from Chelsea for £28m in 2013 which included a season-long loan spell.