Everton forward Steven Naismith believes that the signing of Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea is a statement of intent to their Premier League rivals.

The Toffees landed the Belgium international striker for a club record of £28m last week, and the Scot thinks that the deal shows the club's ambitions for the coming season.

"It shows you how the club has moved forward and where we actually are, spending that kind of money on one player," the Scot told Sky Sports News.

"It shows that we can compete with the teams at the top of the table. To be fair to the manager, he's given a lot of the young boys a chance through pre-season."

Roberto Martinez's side begin their new Premier League campaign against newly-promoted Leicester City.