Arsenal, Chelsea to fight for Lukaku

Arsenal have reportedly entered the race for Anderlecht wonderkid Romelu Lukaku, if reports from England are to be believed.

Lukaku is one of the hottest commodities in European football at present, and for the longest time, Chelsea looked certain favourites to land the powerfully-built eighteen-year-old.
However, the club's chase of Lukaku were initially put on hold due to the more pressing concern of hiring a manager, and while Andre Villas-Boas has since been appointed, Arsenal are understood to have stolen in ahead of Chelsea for the youngster's services.
The Sun is adamant that Lukaku's agent Christophe Henrotay was in North London on Friday to engage in talks with Arsenal officials, who are confident they will be able to land the Belgian international for £14million.
While Gunners manager Arsene Wenger normally refuses to speak about his transfer targets until the deals are more or less completed, a striker is believed to be top on his agenda especially with Danish forward Nicklas Bendtner looking certain for a summer exit.
While most of Arsenal's first-team are currently in Asia on tour, Bendtner has been left behind in England, reportedly to finalise a move away from the Emirates Stadium.
Question marks also remain over Marouane Chamakh, although Wenger has already confirmed Ivory Coast striker Gervinho will be his first major signing of the summer, even though there has been no official press release announcing his capture from Lille.
In a contrasting report from The Guardian, Anderlecht general manager Herman van Holsbeeck is said to be in West London holding negotiations with Chelsea over an acceptable transfer fee.
What both papers agree on is that Anderlecht have informed the Blues that another club have registered their interest in Lukaku.
Initially it was thought that La Liga giants Real Madrid who were the club in question, especially since coach Jose Mourinho is a longtime admirer of the eighteen-year-old. However, it now seems as though it is Arsenal that are looking to pip Chelsea to Lukaku's signature.
While Lukaku is far from an established name in world football, he possesses undoubted talent, having already scored 31 goals in 71 appearances from Anderlecht, and it would be a huge boost to Gunners fans if the normally-frugal Wenger opts to splurge such a sum on a player.