#striker-recruitment

#striker-recruitment

The Gunners believed they had ended their long search for a prolific no9 when they signed Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting CP for £64million last July. The Sweden international has struggled with the demands of English football but turned in perhaps his best performance for the club in last Sunday's derby win over Tottenham.

After completing the signing of Niclas Füllkrug, the AC Milan management are carefully planning how the attack of the future might look. As Tuttosport report this morning, Füllkrug has so far made a positive impact. The 32-year-old has adapted well, having made his debut against Cagliari on January 2, and then having performed well off the bench against Genoa (could have won a penalty) and Fiorentina (should have had multiple assists). Most recently, he scored a game-winning header against Lecce less than two minutes after coming on. It's still unclear whether the former West Ham player will get a chance to start in Rome on Sunday evening, but his contribution will be needed nonetheless. Milan are greatly appreciating how the German has embraced this adventure, with his spirit, enthusiasm and dedication. Füllkrug is surprising everyone, and if he keeps going this way then buying him permanently for €5m could be a given, especially with Champions League football.

Chris Wood has undergone surgery for a knee issue, while Igor Jesus and Taiwo Awoniyi have struggled to deliver for Forest, who sit seven points clear of the Premier League relegation zone. Nicolas Dominguez's strike and a late penalty from Morgan Gibbs-White secured a 2-1 victory over relegation rivals West Ham last time out, but Dyche acknowledged the need for more options up top.

Ferran Torres has been a striker that Barcelona supporters seem to love or hate. Don't forget that his natural position was always as a winger, so his excellence in the main striking role shouldn't be downplayed. Against Betis, Ferran was simply sensational. His movement to get across Marc Bartra for his first goal was elite, with the volley straight afterwards, sublime.

West Ham United have made signing a new striker their priority in the summer transfer window. Niclas Fullkrug is expected to be offload in the winter window after his poor spell in the Premier League for the Hammers. The former Borussia Dortmund striker joined the club with huge expectations but injury issues and managerial changes have unsettled him at the club.

When they got Marcus Rashford in last season, he raised their level because he gave them a different option leading the line, but now he's gone and they haven't replaced him. I'm an Ollie Watkins fan, but he has had a poor season by his standards and that's starting to become a problem for Aston Villa. They don't have a reliable source of goals at the moment, and that's a big reason why they've struggled to win some games.

With just two goals in his first ten games with Bayern, and the presence of Harry Kane as Vincent Kompany's first-choice striker, it seems highly unlikely that Jackson has much of a future at the club. According to Football Insider, this has led Everton to take a look at Jackson, with the 24-year-old supposedly viewed as the type of centre-forward who could be well suited to David Moyes' tactics.

Everton prepare to face Tottenham at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday undefeated at their new home following three wins and two draws this season. Their home form follows a summer of largely successful recruitment, although a question mark still remains at centre-forward, which has been a problem position since the departure of Romelu Lukaku in 2017. The Toffees have signed 17 strikers over the past 10 years at a combined cost of almost 160m... with decidedly mixed results.

The January transfer window will help them in this regard, and plans are being drawn up for signings to be added to Nuno Espirito Santo's squad. One area that could be addressed in attack, with both Niclas Fullkrug and Callum Wilson having struggled in the goalscoring department. Nuno may push to sign another striker when the transfer window re-opens, and if so, there could be one candidate that stands out above the rest: Ivan Toney

"I haven't seen him this week but when I see him we speak as normal, there are no issues there," said Howe. "It's a difficult situation from both sides and it's far from ideal for both parties. "When we bump into each other we speak, but as I say I've not seen him this week as he's training later on and detached from the group. We will catch up at some stage and hopefully speak soon."