Romelu Lukaku has revealed that Everton did not let him leave the club this summer.

Lukaku was widely expected to be departing Everton this summer after repeatedly expressing his desire to leave but the striker surprisingly stayed put at Goodison Park.

Now the Belgian international has gone on to reveal that the Toffees did not allow him to exit during the recent transfer window but hinted that he will eventually move away from Merseyside in the foreseeable future.

The 23-year-old said: "For me football is not about the money. I want to win prizes. But when I get into a situation where I can leave but my team will not let me, I'm not one to go absent, get fined and cultivate a negative reputation.

"I try to remain calm and treat my club with respect. Hopefully they can treat me also with respect and I can leave through the main gate.

"I will not quarrel with Everton. I have not done badly here. Now we have a new coach and it is completely different than with Mr. Martinez.

"But I think I can make progress under Ronald Koeman. Perhaps the last step and then look further. I knew of the interest of a few clubs, but it was pretty soon clear that Everton would not let me go.

"It was important to me that I remained calm and that's what I did. I did not go into conflict. I said to myself, 'I do my best and who is what happens in the future'."