Antonio Conte believes Romelu Lukaku presents a danger to Chelsea's title bid but would not plump for the Everton striker over his own top scorer Diego Costa.

Lukaku left Chelsea after loan spells with West Brom and his current employers, having failed to make an impression upon the first team at Stamford Bridge.

The Belgium international leads the way in the Premier League scoring charts this season with 24 goals - five more than Chelsea's leading marksman.

Costa ended a recent goal drought with a brace in Tuesday's 4-2 win over Southampton, while there was speculation over Chelsea making a move to re-sign Lukaku when the former Atletico Madrid man was linked to the Chinese Super League in January.

"I think Lukaku, for sure, is a really good player," Conte told a pre-match news conference ahead of Sunday's match at Goodison Park. "He's scoring a lot of goals this season, but not only this season.

"We must pay great attention [to him]. But it's always the same. We study the opponents and we try to find the best solution to stop them - for single players and about the team.

"We must pay great attention to Lukaku and the other players. They have a lot of good players, good technique, good finishing."

Asked whether he would like Lukaku at his disposal, Conte responded: "In my team? As I said before, for me my players are the best in the world. I don't change my players with other players."