Everton are 'crying out' for Celtic forward Moussa Dembele, says Alan Stubbs

Everton are in desperate need for a striker in the mould of Celtic forward Moussa Dembele according to Alan Stubbs, who thinks the vaunted Frenchman would certainly solve the Merseysiders' goalscoring problem.

Everton's failure to bring in a replacement for Romelu Lukaku has been well-documented. The troubled Toffees are now relying on former forgotten man Oumar Niasse to spearhead the attack, with summer recruit Sandro Ramirez struggling to earn in a place in the side under interim boss David Unsworth.

The Toffees were linked with a host of centre-forwards in the summer transfer window but failed to land their top striking target in Olivier Giroud, who eventually opted to remain at Arsenal. Stubbs, who enjoyed two spells at Goodison Park, thinks former Fulham striker Dembele would suit his former club down to ground.

"If he has an impact in the second half of the season, that price is going to keep on going up," Stubbs told BT Sport, relayed by the Daily Mail.

"I think Everton are crying out for that type of striker. They need someone who is big, strong, powerful, and obviously scores loads of goals.

"He'd be a good fit for Everton right now, but obviously Celtic just want to see him out there scoring goals, and the more goals he scores, the more pound notes."

Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton echoed Stubbs' sentiments about Dembele, but is eager to see the Bhoys command top dollar for their prized asset. Celtic have sold a lot of their top stars to Premier League clubs in recent seasons, and Sutton thinks they should squeeze every penny from any potential sale of Dembele in the summer and avoid selling him for below his true value, like he believes they did when they parted with Virgil van Dijk for £12m.

"He's back to fitness now and scoring goals. Everton need a striker and he would be a good choice," Sutton said.

"It has to be £30m minimum, in this market. Scottish teams, Celtic in particular, have got to stop undervaluing their players, as they did with Virgil van Dijk."