Everton considered signing Celtic forward Moussa Dembele in the summer

Everton were considering signing Celtic striker and mooted Chelsea target Moussa Dembele in the summer and were told to snap the forward up without a moment's hesitation by former Bhoys scout David Moss, who played a huge role in bringing the Frenchman to Parkhead.

Dembele joined the Scottish champions from Fulham for a nominal fee in the summer of 2016 and helped Brendan Rodgers' side storm to a historic treble in his first season in Glasgow. The 20-year-old's performances and rampant goalscoring form inevitably led to interest from the Premier League, with Chelsea reportedly snooping around him in the January transfer window.

A move to Chelsea did not materialise in the winter and Everton decided against signing Dembele in the summer, a decision they may well rue - former Toffees defender Alan Stubbs thinks David Unsworth's side are "crying out" for a striker of Dembele's calibre.

Moss, who now works as Huddersfield Town's head of football operations after leaving Celtic in June, is "at a loss" as to why the France youth star is not in the Premier League and would be surprised to see the former Paris Saint-Germain academy star leave Paradise for less than £30m.

"Everton were a club who phoned me up about him. They said: "David, what do you think?" I said: "Don't even blink, don't even think about it, sign him. It's a no-brainer"." Moss told The Daily Mail.

"If I was in charge of a Premier League club I would have moved for Moussa at the end of last season. Anybody who knows Moussa knows he has a big-game mentality. He is a natural goalscorer.

"With all this money awash in the Premier League I am at a loss as to why clubs didn't take him. But they haven't because they don't like Scottish football or 'he can't do this or he can't do that.' If you really know your football you know he should have been signed.

"Back in the summer Moussa had a hamstring injury - clubs could possibly have got him for £20m or £25m. Now he's back fit and scored a 12-minute hat-trick for France under-21s in midweek. If you get Moussa Dembele for £30m now you have won a watch."

It remains to be seen if Everton reignite their interest in Dembele, but a striker is an absolute priority for the Merseysiders in the January transfer window after failing to replace Romelu Lukaku in the summer.

Former forgotten man Oumar Niasse has stepped into the breach in recent weeks and has plundered six goals for the Toffees already this season, but the Senegal international may miss Everton's next three league matches if he is adjudged to have dived against Crystal Palace on the weekend.