Almost three years ago Chelsea signed a pair of Belgians who'd go on to be among the most coveted young players in football. And now, with neither having played significant minutes with the first team, both Thibaut Courtois and Romelu Lukaku have just two years left to run on their initial contracts. That's obviously quite bad, and although we've heard a lot about the efforts to get Courtois' deal extended all has been fairly quiet on the Lukaku front.
Until now, that is. Stories are leaking across the English media (which would presumably mean someone's briefing them) that Chelsea are pushing for Lukaku to sign a new deal. And those reports mention that Lukaku is reluctant to unless he gets some assurances about his future career at Stamford Bridge. All of which makes perfect sense, and gives the impression that the club isn't dead-set on getting rid of the young striker this summer, as some reports would have had us believe.
Nothing is set in stone and I can't imagine negotiations will be easy, but that there are negotiations at all is an encouraging sign. Hopefully all works out -- I'm really looking forward to seeing Lukaku turn out in Chelsea blue.