Sam Allardyce has confirmed that a new striker is high on Everton’s list of priorities in January.
Besiktas frontman Cenk Tosun appears to be on the verge of a £25 million move to Goodison Park when the transfer window reopens in three days’ time.
The Blues have struggled for goals since Romelu Lukaku’s sale to Manchester United in the summer, recording just 24 from 20 Premier League games to date.
Tosun has 14 goals in 24 games for Besiktas this season, including four in the Champions League group stages that helped his side into the knockout stages.
Allardyce is rumoured to have a longstanding interest in the player, having previously recommended him to former club Crystal Palace.
Although he did not name-check Tosun, the Everton manager did confirm that signing a striker is chief among his priorities heading into the winter window.
He said: “We need a front man if we can find one and will be actively looking for one in this window.
“I need more goals in the side at the moment if we are to just to maintain our position.
“We’ve started to struggle to create chances and score goals in recent matches so it’s still one of the major problems we have at the club.
“We can’t cloud the fact we’ve got more penalties than anybody else in the Premier League, which has contributed, to a few points we’ve picked up over the season.
“That won’t always happen so we need to strengthen in our goalscoring areas and that’s new players.
“The players that are already here, like Sandro, haven’t picked up the pace of the Premier League and been able to show what they showed in Spain.
“Oumar (Niasse) while scoring a goal hasn’t made a regular place at Everton and got loaned out last season.
“Calvert-Lewin is battling away but his goal record is still four with a few assists. I think he has a bright future but we can’t rely on him week in and week out at the moment.”