Respect your deal Ron tells Romelu

RONALD KOEMAN says Romelu Lukaku must “respect” his Everton contract, warning the club will play hardball if forced into a corner.

The Everton boss was disappointed with Lukaku’s comments this week after the striker suggested the club’s ambitions did not match his own.

But yesterday he drew battle lines, telling Lukaku, below, the Toffees board will not roll over and let him walk out of Goodison while his contract has over two years left on it.

“The final word is always to the board of the club and if we don’t sell the player, we don’t sell the player,” said Koeman.

“The people in the club are really strong enough to keep something and if we go in that direction, the final decision is for the board of the club. Everyone knows what can happen in football but you need to respect your contract.”

If Koeman raised the stakes with Lukaku, admitting also that the club may yet discipline the player for his comments about Everton’s transfer policy and ambition, he also took the opportunity to fire a warning shot in the direction of Ross Barkley.

The England midfielder, who like Lukaku is stalling over signing a new contract, has just over 12 months left on his current deal. Koeman left him in little doubt he expects him to make his mind up about where he wants to play his football next season. “There is no ultimatum but it is normal, it’s business,” said Koeman. “I spoke to Ross about a new contract and now it is up to the board to get that contract over the line. “With one year left you need to make a decision so the club knows what will happen next year. “At Southampton [where Koeman managed until the end of the 2015-16 season], we had Nathaniel Clyne and he did not sign a new contract. We sold him in the summer.” Barkley is attracting interest from Chelsea but Manchester City are also monitoring his situation. Despite Lukaku’s comments Koeman has no intention of leaving him out against Hull on Saturday. “He is training how he needs to and his behaviour, except for some quotes, are what I would expect. “So there is no reason to put him out – the team needs him and he needs the team,” said Koeman. “Every player has ambition and everyone wants to play for titles, play in the Champions League – that’s normal. “What we want to do is show if there is one club out of the big six to take the next step, it’s us.”