How many times to Everton fans have to say they need a great striker? It’s becoming quite a joke now, but Lille’s wonderkid Rafael Leao could well be that man to end the moaning.

They replaced Romelu Lukaku with Wayne Rooney, but then decided to play him in midfield, and now Cenk Tosin has proved he’s just as bad as everyone else they’ve had since. Indeed, considering the dire need for a top-level striker right away, the Liverpool Echo linking Leao won’t excite anyone either.

That doesn’t mean it shouldn’t, though! The Portuguese striker is only 19-years-old yet he’s scored seven and assisted two in 19 Ligue 1 games this season. He has the real potential to be a long-term coup for the Toffees even though he’s relatively unknown at this point in time.

He moved to Lille on a free from Sporting Lisbon in summer, so it won’t cost a bomb to bring him to Everton. If he did, the chances of risking paying for a young lad like him would be slim. But this signing would have low risk and potentially very high reward.

Marcel Brands could kill two birds with one stone if they can tempt him from the north of France to glorious Merseyside. They’d have a young wonderkid who would fit their planning for the future mentality and would finally have a striker who looks like he knows where the goal is.

We know, it’s not the marquee, big-name signing that most Evertonians are hoping for but they could be forced to eat their words if the hype is true and he can guide them to Europe for little to no transfer fee.

Everton fans, who do you want playing centre-forward next season? Join the discussion by commenting below...