Koeman still looking for a No.9

Now lets see some action from the aquisitions team.

also think we need to keep in mind that he would not be allowed to get away with some of his actions on the pitch the same way he did at Chelsea. He got so many free passes because Chelsea were the title leaders. The refs were more lenient. I think you'd see much quicker red cards here. But I still think it would be a massive improvement over someone like Benteke. Benteke would be a panic buy and massive regret.

I think he'd be exactly what we need. Big target man to get on the end of Sigurdsson's / Bolasie's crosses, and also knock-downs for the likes of Rooney and Klaassen.

He's something completely different to what we have already at the club in the forward positions; and his history suggests he'll be good for a decent number of goals himself as well. Almost a one in two goals/games PL record so far.

I'd say for Sherlock he'd prefer someone with good experience of the league, a proven goalscorer, good target man and good in the air with the right character whose surplus to requirements or available for sale without the opposing club wishing to pull our pants down over the fee.

I don't think there's many players readily available that would fit that criteria. I'll probably get shot down for this but why not go for Wilfried Bony whose game our new Iceman knows well and is surplus to requirements at Man City likely for a semi reasonable fee.

I'm neutral on Benteke. He's an unplayable beast in the air, but that's his entire game. He'll score some goals, but he'll also drive us up the wall with frustration.

I'll be interested to see what other names float up in the rumour pool in the next few days.

But Atletico can't sign him. Conte won't have him. Hence, the possibility of a loan move. Nobody is saying he'd sign on for five years. But a season on loan, then he gets his move to Spain, Chelsea get their money, and we can identify and get the striker who is the answer to our needs up top.

If it's a big target man we need who will win headers from crossed then there are not many better around.

He'd cost about 25-30m tho maybe more. Can t see it happening anyway.

I'd take zaha from CP tho..

I'd love Dembele from Celtic know it's a risk but he could be perfect.

Harsh to say we have left it until the last minute I think Girould was the 1 we been tracking since we signed them flurry of players in July but looks dead in the water. Kalinic as well but he off to Milan I think and didn't want him anyway.

Don't know who we would get. Be nice throwing a cheeky bid in for Aguero but it's very unlikely.

Don't want costa he is too temperamental I think Rooney would probably end up butting the c**t mid game.
If he wasn't such a idiot he'd be Great!

Choice choices choices... There isn't a lot
Bas dost looks like the type we'd need but he would come with a massive price tag and would also be a risk.

Going to be hard to break into the top 6 never mind top 4 unless we buy a beast of a striker.

Not only this Costa wages would be circa £150k+ per week, an astronomical loan fee that Chelski would want and the fact he's put on a lot of timber and is nowhere near match fit since going on strike in Brazil. Forget Costa unless it's a Costa coffee you're talking about!

He was linked with us before, has a 1 in 2 record in Internationals, and his Premier League experience thus far has been slightly hamstrung by the difficult season Leicester had last season. He's also very strong in the air.

The very top names are not coming here (yet), while young jewels like Dolberg, Dembele and Schick are going to be hard to get (and might not be the right choice anyway), so underachieving players at decent clubs - like Welbeck and Slimani - might be the most likely acquisitions. Benteke is undisputed first choice for Palace, and might take a Herculean effort (and huge fee) to shift.

1. Edin Dzeko
2. Bas Dost
3. Islam Slimani
4. Ciro Immobile
5. Mario Gomez
6. Nicolai Jorgensen
Wildcard - Troy Deeney

They'd cost 㾻-30M and their clubs could sell...

No chance of Welbeck, Benteke, Costa or Giroud
Any other names guys . also I'd say Schick, Dolberg, Werner & Dembele are also non-starters.

ps: Lacina Traore please NO!

There arent many surprises anymore as anyone decent is all over the internet so I just hope we're not disappointed.

I wrote an article a few months back saying Steve Mounie might be worth a shot. Think he was a great value buy in this market. I also think Iheanacho would have made sense.

I wonder who our top targets are and why we haven't made a move already?

Perez from Arsenal is available for £15m and I think he'd do a decent job if given a prominent role. Chris Wood from Leeds could be interesting.

Dembele or Dolberg would be the exciting (if risky) moves.

Iheanacho, Perez, etc are not the type of player Koeman / Walsh are looking for. They want a target man. They wouldnt fit.

Costa? I think would clash with Koeman. Might be funny though. Would love it to happen but can't see it.

Giroud would have been ideal, but that ship has sailed.

It's going to be interesting that's for sure who ever we get. Wonder if Straq is still around?

I hope we'll be looking for someone who can move well and score and not just a big lump; otherwise why not give Crouchy the call...

I agree but I don't believe there are too many strikers around who could fit both. I suspect it will be someone similar to Pelle who Koeman has at Southampton rather than a more mobile striker. Just my gut feeling though.

DCL has done well and I'm excited to see his development over the next few years. However he's still too young/inexperienced to play a whole season.

The one player, who ironically is quite quick, that I think we are still interested in is Niang. For me he would be a good option as I think with the right handling he could be very good. Also I just don't see us spending more than 20 million on another player in this window - hope I'm wrong but for the time being I think the big spending is now over. COYB

Should give niasse a game or 2...

In fact I'm a bit jealous of Leicester's striking options. Vardy, Slimani, Okasaki, Iheanacho, Gray (more of a winger admittedly). If we had that lot I'd be more confident of top 6 and some decent cup runs.

Benteke isn't a goer due to the fact palace gave £30+m and you really couldn't pay more than that.

Iheanacho was the one that got away imo, and Costa is probably in the same file as Messi, Ronaldo, Augero and Neymar . Never happening.

The biggest problems I forsee ig getting Dembele would be the fee given Celtic have one foot in the door for the Champions League they'd likely want mega bucks £60m+ for him. If we were to bid I think we'd be involved in a bidding war with a number of other clubs who if involved in the Champions League would be likely favourites as a new destination.

Given there's less than two weeks of the window open we would want to get a deal done and quickly which I think would be extremely difficult or not even possible.

That leaves us with the second tier players who are likely out of favour and wanting a move, especially in world cup year. I think Koeman would prefer premier league experience, as we have a few new players from overseas who may take a while to settle.
So the only typical number 9's who are surplus would be Bony or Slimani. We don't need a super mobile player in that role, we already have Sandro, DCL etc that will play off of him, along with Rooney, Klasson and Sig supporting. We need someone big, strong, that can hold a ball up and feed a pass, while also chipping in with 12-15 goals of their own.

I wouldn't say no to Bony. Did well before going to City, but never really given a good run there.

I can only think the club had planned for Giroud, but that isn't going to happen.

For me Bony, it's a no brainer at this very late stage.
Benteke, will cost far too much.
Costa on loan? discipline, he'd clash big time with Koeman, I can't see them loaning him to us & he is way off match fitness.
Slimani? A possibility.
Dzeko? Depends on the price.
We missed out on Iheanacho IMO.
King from Bournemouth? Can't see them selling him & if they did it would be for silly money.
Deeney as a second striker signing? Remy also as a second striker signing?

I fear that we are going to end up with a makeweight.

Any suggestions?

No, we need Walsh and his scouts to come up with the goods. They've done alright up to now but I'd be even more impressed if they came up with someone less bleedingly obvious than the suspects mentioned so far (Benteke and Giroud).

Walsh obviously spent sometime in Italy earlier on in the window and we were subsequently quite heavily linked with M'Baye Niang, Kalinic (Milan bound?), Dzeko, to name a few.

Holland due to the fact Koeman knows the market so well. Pelle was a buy from the Eredivisie when at Southampton and If I remember rightly we were linked with Nicolai Jørgensen who was the top scorer in the league last season.

For me, I would like to see Niang given a chance as a No.9

Anyway, I think a left-back is almost as important. Teams use their full backs as attacking outlets now and Baines is finished going forwards.

On the striker front, I wouldn't want Bony, Benteke, Welbeck, or Deeney, they are all second rate. Either go large with Dembele or Dolberg or let's work with what we have. Calvert-Lewin seems to be coming along if played in that position and Sandro will score goals.

To name but 3:
Lukaku to Everton initial loan
Suarez to Liverpool
Bale to Real Madrid

Not exactly 'the scraps' are they?

As for a new striker I would consider these targets if I were Koeman/Walsh:

Giroud, Arsenal 20m
Mitrovic, Newcastle 15m
Wilson, Bournemouth 10m
Rondon, West Brom, 25m
Hernandez, Hull 15m
Icardi, Inter 30-60m
Dembele, Celtic 25m
Bakambu, Villarreal 25m
Aboubakar, Porto 15m
Mandzukic, Juventus 15-30m

Oh go on then.

Like David #5, I'm in the Costa 6 month loan camp. He was a huge part of Chelsea success last season. They are missing him already. Agree re character - remember issue with Seamus, but he's the sort of player we need up top. Constantly working the centre backs, running off the ball to make himself available and also room for others, strong in the air, good finisher, clever but also the down side of that mean streak that went way over the top. How many times did you read "A goal for Chelsea for Costa, who is lucky to be still on the pitch".

I have to admit I haven't seen much of the others apart from brief CL highlights. Agree Iheanacho would have been a good buy.

I like movement from the striker. There was little or no mention of Klaassen's part in the Rooney goal v Stoke. He was in a central position in the box as Dominic shaped to cross with Zouma in close attendance. His run to the near post took Zouma out of position and created the space for the free header for Rooney. That's an assist for Klaassen in my book.

King at Bournemouth would be a good shout, otherwise I'd take Dembele (first choice), Giroud (unlikely now), Icardi (unlikely), possibly Dzeko (but unlikely again).

Another short term option would have been Bacca but he's now joined Villareal on loan...

We went for Siggurdson, he was here the next day ...?..... a year later. :-)

Think Martin is probably right, why did Walsh go to Italy?

Maybe, any potential deal has since collapsed, but I don't think for one minute, that they would have put all the eggs in one basket, without a couple of alternatives, and as he suggests, more likely than not from abroad.

If we want to have a focal point for every game we'll be lucky to find somebody - we just sold that person for a lot of money.

Suspect we'll have to take a risk at this point - in that case I'd prefer a promising youngster like Dembele.

Welbeck is talented but a bit injury prone.The rest are foreign players who are untested in the Premier League.

Maybe this is a situation for Walsh to find us all a hidden gem ?

I'm not sure why people are saying Giroud deal is dead, because Wenger says he wants to stay? Wouldn't believe anything he says. With a world cup next year Giroud will want to play. Another game on the bench and if Sanchez commits then he has no chance of starting.

I still think we need pace but looking at various people's lists Giroud looks the best option. I think the key to getting a quality big name in though, if we want that, is what happens to Mbappe.

I'd put a big bid in for Martial personally. Through the middle nailed on to score 15 plus

I actually think Celtic getting through to CL group stages makes Dembele more gettable, as they've met their objective financially. However whether he'd be willing to give up CL football is another matter.

Benteke will cost a fortune, Dzeko is a possibility and would love him, Bony will not come as Ron knows him very well and was not even interested when he went to Stoke, so he is not going to bother now, as the impression is that he does not put it all in.

As for Costa, are you out of your minds ? the blokes insane and would cause no end of disruption, sooner he leaves these shores the better.

I have been championing Chris Wood from Leeds, young, tough, strong and will cost nowhere near as much as some strikers mentioned !

I very interesting and exciting situation.

I wouldn't say Dolberg cannot do what Llorente did. Perhaps he lacks the experience and maybe the power, but he certainly does not lack the height. He's 187cm. A tall striker like that, under the tutelage of a certain former number 9 (no not Jeffers!) and maybe he can develop into a Llorente.

Benteke is the safest bet. But I would like to gamble on Dolberg.

Or would you prefer we didn't try for Giroud and went for someone we could sign easily? For me, this was the most important position. It should be our most expensive signing. We need to make sure it is done right and so signing someone late is ok, as long as they are the right man for the job and we did everything possible to sign the players we missed out on like Giroud.

He's got everything needed and that we are missing up top.

Size, power, pace, touch can finish.

I'm surprised nobody has gone for him.

I also like King of Bournemouth and are surprised we didn't go off him.

Signing another striker of quality is vital, Sig is great from deadballs but you need a no:9 to get his head on them (which we don't have).

Sig value and contribution is halved without that.

Getting a striker forms could really be the difference between top 4 certainly top 6 or top 10.

Dont get me wrong I like Rooney & like v much what I've seen of Sandro so far, but we need more options and definitely size and pace.

Dendonker I'd love but we have enough midfielders and can't see Koeman able to pursuade - Moshri, Kenwright to outlay for him.

Love to be wrong on this though.

He'd be a decent replacement for Lukaku; big, strong and with a decent turn of pace. Not sure his goal return matches the Belgian though. Yet

Wont happen . Koeman is crap.. Walsh is crap... We need to sell to buy Zzzzzz

Offer Anderlecht 50m for Teodorczyk and Dendoncker . offload Schneiderlin to recover outlay.

Otherwise I'd like to see Dzeko, PL proven, found good form in Italy big # 9

Another shout which could be a distinct possibility what about a swap deal with Vincent Janssen from Spuds with Barkley going in the opposite direction and £20m cash? Janssen hasn't set the world alight at Spurs but he's not got a look in with Kane and Son ahead of him in the pecking order. His scoring record for previous Dutch clubs and at international level is fantastic.

The point is that it's difficult to get a very good striker unless you're a very good team.

Everton finished seventh last year and might be in the Europa League so they'll not be queuing up unless they're a relatively unknown.

A bit unfair maybe as I have not watched him in the real world.

I'd really like it if we could even find a lazy get with no first touch and zero interplay skills like that waste of space Lukaku :-)

We are known to be players in the market, prices are adjusted accordingly and quickly.

Time is against us so we are in no position to reciprocate with hard bargaining. Swansea showed us that..

Everton's reach or reputation is so skewed in our eyes it's impossible to understand why Messi won't just jump on a plane and slip on a shirt.

We are not anywhere as 'well known' or a big as a draw as we believe.

This leaves us at a cross roads, a premier league player who is aware of the Everton project, will cost boat loads and well is used to the premier league.

Or the relative unknown from abroad, cost maybe reasonable record more than handy in a league nowhere near comparable to England.

Then maybe one last option, the scorned, the disgruntled. The chap who is ' effed off with his manager or club, and might take loan to get him out of dodge. The caveat that is is a big risk for a no9.

So Rondon from WBA, Dzeko from Roma and Costa seem candidates.

But this one looks like a filler intil January .blimey

He looks to have great potential - 6"3 - I think, looks great in the air, comfortable on the ball, quick & looks to be able to score all types of goals.

I'd like us to try & get him in before the window closes, long-term I think he could be a great striker.

On the note of young strikers with potential - anyone know what happened with Zirkzee?

Are Koeman and Sandro playing a game of Hide and Seek?,"Koeman still looking for a No.9"

Are Koeman and Sandro playing a game of Hide and Seek?,,,1,16:09:34,,69.88.160.1,ok,1459,08/17/2017 16:09:34,Boycey,reader,, 840870,35350,toffeeweb,17/08/2017,Charlie Lloyd,cclloyd@live.co.uk,James @ 52.

No membership or anything. Just search for Everton FC. You need to change your perception of YouTube have a search through there's lots on there. When I pine for the glory days I can even relive them via YouTube!,James @ 52.

No membership or anything. Just search for Everton FC. You need to change your perception of YouTube have a search through there's lots on there. When I pine for the glory days I can even relive them via YouTube!,,,1,16:09:39,,95.146.141.180,ok,18460,08/17/2017 16:09:39,CCL,reader,, 840871,35348,toffeeweb,17/08/2017,Gary Edwards,garyed64@yahoo.com,Geoff (#91) . I based my suggestion merely on his performances against Spurs in last season's Europa Cup where he acquitted himself well against the PL's best CB pairing.,Geoff (#91) . I based my suggestion merely on his performances against Spurs in last season's Europa Cup where he acquitted himself well against the PL's best CB pairing.,,,1,16:10:41,,79.70.245.223,ok,11288,08/17/2017 16:10:41,Sportbillyblue,reader,, 840872,35344,toffeeweb,17/08/2017,Roberto Birquet,robert.birkett@informa.com,"Arsenal vulnerable? Their third choice striker has just turned us down becoming our first choice striker. Now we are linked with their 4th choice striker.

We are still some way off. Another CB and a striker, then the return of some pace: Coleman and Bolaise, and we'll be quite close. But even that and I would look at 6th this season as good progress and fifth as excellent progress

COYB

As I said previously, I would be very surprised if we pay more than €20M for a forward - which would wipe out a lot of the player suggestions being made.

I just don't see our NET spending being pushed to such a high level.

If you read some of the very good posts on the subject you'll see that net spending isn't a key metric

Get Rooney to tap him up.

That said, the rumour of Costa on loan is VERY interesting. He's a divisive player I get that and there is a risk of upsetting the squad morale - but I think Koeman is big enough and has enough of his own earned respect to deal with egos plus we'd all know it's just one season before a transfer to Atletico.
We'd have a genuine top quality player without having to shell out the megabucks transfer fee and you'd feel he'd be fired up to prove a point to his previous employers and say farewell to the premier league in style.
Chelsea obviously won't let him go to anyone they consider title/CL challengers, but we come in nicely just under that radar.

Yes, with luck Bolasie could be back sooner than expected and may be the answer with some new team mates around but that is still a while away. There are some decent guys out there Beckford of Bury and Vaughan of Sunderland. (Okay, just kidding.)

However, it is pretty obvious that Everton lack that incisiveness in the final third which will be a problem soon enough. Everton are trying to use a lot of one/two's down the middle through Rooney, almost like Barca but without the right personnel.
Hopefully it will be put right before the deadline.

Again a lazy journo has voiced the fact that Everton need a centre forward and Costa is refusing to go back to Chelsea. Social media has done the rest.

I can't believe anyone could actually think this a viable possibility.

And

"But Atletico can't sign him".

They can sign him next January. That explains Koeman's "six month" reference.

Last year we were linked with Gabbiardini who then signs for a smaller fee to Saints in january. Where were we?

Goal scoring is the name of the game and here we are seemingly up a dead end. Whatever happened to the great expedition by Walsh to Italy? Zilch!

Regarding Gabbiardini, where was the grapevine that tips the world of football about potential sales?

This is not crystal ball gazing or some magical foresight. It was being played out in the press and Lukaku's attitude and body language were something of a clue once champions league became a no-go!

I wish I had the powers you allude to no, just seeing the b****y obvious!

We have seen the likes Hernandes, Gabbiadini, Solanke, Andre Gray, Defoe etc all snapped up while we hold a feint hope out for Giroud who all along inferred that he wanted to stay at Arsenal..

I still don't know why we didnt make a big offer for Vardy or Dzecko which is the standard we should be aiming for.

Maybe we did or there is a surprise on the horizon but it doesnt seem like it.

We have not done nothing - lest we forget we have signed both Rooney and Sandro. It's not enough of course. But I don't think a failure to sign a new "big" central striker shows a lack of ambition...quite the opposite, because we have been holding out for higher quality we have had to wait. There's still time and I do expect something to happen before the window closes.

Part of me hopes that if Giroud finds himself benched again this weekend he might yet decide on a move in the WC year. Not sure what other plausible options there are .

Costa is the class centre forward that we wouldn't be able to attract but you tell him come here till Jan and then you can join Athletico when their transfer embargo ends. Obviously by his comments in the press conference his name was mentioned to Koeman who said we always like good players here and with a smile said and Costa is a good player.

So if its remotely possible go for it, yes he is horrible and nasty but he scores goals is quite quick for a big man and his link up play with Hazard was brilliant. So for me a win win situation for both player and us, he gets fit and shows the manager of Spain he will be ready for the World Cup and He knows he can leave for Athletico in Jan. Also by then players who may not be available in this window might be in Jan depending where we are in the league.

Can't imagine Chelsea want to loan him to us. Helping out a player they probably feel ill-disposed towards now and a potential rival

Dont know all the legalities and your right I don't think Chelsea are in any mood to do him any favours. But I am sure for Koeman to even mention this I guess someone at our club will have looked at the possibilities of getting him on loan.

Maybe it wont happen, but other than Dzeko I really don't want to contemplate Benteke or Bony definitely a massive step backwards even considering these 2.