Chelsea boss sidesteps talk of swoop for Lukaku

Antonio Conte insists he would not swap Diego Costa for Romelu Lukaku, despite continued speculation Everton’s Belgium hitman could return to Chelsea this summer.

Chelsea face Everton at Goodison Park tomorrow with the chance to rubber-stamp Champions League qualification and edge ever closer to the Premier League title.

Everton striker Lukaku tops the Premier League scoring charts with 24 goals, while Chelsea talisman Costa has struck 19 times in league action.

Chelsea boss Conte remained coy about comparisons between the two prolific forwards, but admitted the Blues must pay heed to Lukaku’s powers tomorrow.

Asked if he would rather have Costa or Lukaku, Conte replied: “As I’ve said before, for me my players are the best in the world.

“I wouldn’t change my players with any other players. I think that Lukaku for sure is a really good player, he’s scoring a lot of goals this season.

Meanwhile defender Dejan Lovren has signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool.

The club announced the news yesterday as the centre-back approaches the end of his third season at Anfield. Lovren moved from Southampton in 2014.

And cash-strapped Sunderland’s net debt fell by £23 million despite recording a loss after tax of £33m during the last financial year, the club’s latest annual accounts have revealed.

The Black Cats, who pulled off yet another Premier League great escape at the end of last season, made a small operating profit of £1.5m and reduced their debt burden from £133.2m to £110.4m during the year to July 31 2016.