Ronald Koeman oddly tells Romelu Lukaku he needs to leave Everton to fulfil potential

Everton manager Ronald Koeman has upset Toffees fans by telling star striker Romelu Lukaku that he will need to leave the club to fulfil his potential.

The Belgian striker became the club's record signing in the summer of 2014 when he made his loan move from Chelsea permanent for £28m. Still only 23 years of age, Lukaku has scored 68 goals for the club in 135 games - including a frankly outrageous record against West Ham - and sparked reported interest from a number of top European clubs. And Koeman has told Belgian publication HLN that, if the striker spends the rest of his career at Goodison Park, it will mean he has not fulfilled his potential as a player.

"His potential is greater and higher than Everton as a final destination," Koeman said, before suggesting Lukaku could follow the path of former Dutch international Patrick Kluivert and eventually move to Barcelona. "Eventually Kluivert played for Barcelona, which could happen with Lukaku," he said, comparing the two players' development into a top striker at a young age. Lukaku has already scored 10 goals for club and country this season, including Belgium's first goal against Cyprus, Everton's first against Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Manchester City and West Ham - games from which the Toffees picked up eight points. So it goes without saying that fans of the Merseyside club are far from thrilled after reading their manager's comments. https://twitter.com/EFCmacca1878/status/796392217728450562 https://twitter.com/BlueKnight1878/status/796409541634228227 https://twitter.com/SirPartridge/status/796424471351623680 And there have been some comparisons with John Stones, who left Goodison Park this summer for a hefty fee. https://twitter.com/ste_bw/status/796421316459036672 https://twitter.com/terryreece1/status/796351623429816321