Sam Allardyce will unleash “the best striker in Europe for the money” on Liverpool, as he gambles on FA Cup glory.

A £27m deal to bring Turkey’s number one striker Cenk Tosun to Goodison was finalised on Thursday, and the Everton manager revealed the centre forward will be on the bench in the derby - if his paperwork clears by the 12 noon deadline on Friday.

And even though the 26-year-old hasn’t played for three weeks, the Blues boss revealed it will be a no-brainer to put him on the bench, because he has the quality to deliver a huge victory that could make Everton’s season.

“I think probably if he is available for the bench I think that is the best I’m going to get to,” Allardyce explained.

“The situation has dragged on for a period of time, they’ve finished just before Christmas so there has been a period where he has not done any training...we would be cautious but it is not impossible to get him in the squad on the bench.”

Tosun celebrates after scoring (
Image:
AFP/Getty)
Tosun has been in lethal form for Besiktas (
Image:
AFP)

The Goodison coach knows just how important victory at Anfield would be for Everton, as it would keep the final chance of a trophy this season alive – and deliver a massive psychological boost to his team.

And he believes the new signing from Besiktas can provide the extra dimension the Blues need to turn last month’s gritty draw at Anfield into a famous victory over the old enemy.

“Look, there is going to be a massive pressure on him if we do clinch the signing that he is successful straight away which I’m cautious about,” he added.

“We can’t have researched any more and can’t have looked at the qualities of the player, in terms of talent and goalscoring, and also from a resilience and mentality point of view.

Sam Allardyce speaks to the press (
Image:
Everton FC)

“You can’t look at more than we have done and think that this is, for what is available at the price we are paying, the best in Europe at the moment.

“This lad looks like he’s got a huge, strong mentality and a good pedigree. He is a player who is desperate to come to play in the Premier League and I like what he has done in the past as a footballer, particularly recently as he is Turkey’s No 1 striker.

“He has scored goals in the Champions League, he has scored goals in the league. He’s a bit of an all rounder. He has got some good movement, two footed.

“We will try to break him in gently but I don’t think you break anyone in gently in January transfer windows. It is more sleeves rolled up and get on with it.”

Besiktas' forward Cenk Tosun celebrates (
Image:
AFP)

Allardyce knows he can’t hold back against Liverpool because Everton’s season is on the line, so he will pick his strongest available line up in the search for cup success that can make the campaign a glorious one.

“You can’t not go with your strongest side to Anfield. I think the players will be wanting to be selected,” he said.

“We want to pick the best team and give it our best shot. At Newcastle who haven’t won a cup for such a long time, if you’d stayed in the Premier League and won a cup final you’d have been a hero. It’s got to be the same here.

“We have to overcome Liverpool first. Then after that we can move on and see how far we can go. We want to be good enough on the night to win, because neither of us will want a replay that is for sure.”

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