However, to get someone of £50m quality, you will need to pay £50m.
It's also more than likely that those strikers of perceived £50m quality won't join Everton because we're not at the top table.
Matic went to United for £40m, "a bargain" was the collective opinion. Even had we been interested, Everton would not have been an option. Why?There is a tiered market;
- Global Mega Brands
- Champions League Teams
- Aspirational Champions League Teams
- The rest
We are in the third tier. We may pick up the odd top tier player at the end of their career. Or the odd 2nd tier player may see some value in first team football, a decent wage and the Everton 'project'. Until we can make the step up; we're not buying from that marketplace. We'll have a look, maybe have a go; but it's always a long shot.
Get the best of the 3rd tier in, have a real good go at moving up a level - that's what we need to attempt. It opens the market up for us.
So - a new striker will be a prospect or acquired from a peer. We aren't going to replace Lukaku with 2017 Lukaku. We'll replace Lukaku an equivalent of the 2013 Lukaku we signed on loan from Chelsea and attempt to cover the shortfall of goals from our other signings.
Who? God knows.