Everton consider Christian Benteke as Olivier Giroud alternative

With Romelu Lukaku having officially left to join Manchester United, Everton are likely to be linked with numerous strikers in the coming weeks.

Even though Wayne Rooney and Sandro Ramirez have both been added to the ranks this summer, the consensus is that another forward will be needed to bolster the ranks ahead of next season.

Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud is a target if the ever-reliable Paul Joyce is to be believed, with a £20 million move having been mooted in recent weeks.

It’s a deal that could happen too, with the Frenchman likely to seek an exit from the Emirates this summer after the arrival of Alexandre Lacazette pushed him further down the pecking order.

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Should an exit be blocked by the Gunners, though, Everton will have to look at other options for the big, target man type player they seem keen on adding.

If that turns out to be the case, the Daily Mail report that Crystal Palace’s Christian Benteke could be among those that they target.

The giant Belgian is the epitome of a target man having perfected the role at both Aston Villa and more recently Crystal Palace. Indeed, it was the reason Brendan Rodgers took him to Liverpool.

A move from Everton would make very little sense, though. Benteke would command a large fee, is a much lesser talent than Giroud and has previous Liverpool connections to boot.

As an alternative to Giroud, a deal makes sense, but in reality, it’s one that’s very unlikely to happen, even in this crazy summer transfer window.