Stoke City's Charlie Adam says Everton missed out on Giroud because his wife didn't fancy it

Everton's quest to sign a striker to replace Romelu Lukaku ended in frustration and Ronald Koeman might have Olivier Giroud's wife to blame for it.

The Frenchman had been identified by Koeman as the man to fill the void left by Lukaku's departure to Manchester United earlier this summer and, with Giroud now behind club record signing Alexandre Lacazette in the pecking order, Arsenal were prepared to let him go.

However, the 30-year-old opted to remain at the Emirates instead and vowed to fight for his place in the starting XI.

Stoke City midfielder Charlie Adam, however, believes the real reason for Giroud's decision to remain in London lay elsewhere.

"I heard his partner refused the deal," Adams said on BBC 5 Live on Thursday night (31 August), as he was taking part in the station's coverage of transfer deadline day.

"The deal was nearly done, he wanted to come, but I heard it was his girlfriend or wife that turned it down."

Jennifer Giroud's alleged refusal to allow her husband to move to Merseyside meant the Toffees' transfer window ended with a bit of an anti-climax, as despite adding over £120m worth of talent to the squad Koeman's options up-front look a bit short.

Wayne Rooney returned to Goodison Park after 13 years at Manchester United, while Hajduk Split forward Nikola Vlasic joined for £10m and Spain U21 starlet Sandro arrived from Malaga for just £5.2m after Everton triggered his release clause.

However, none of the trio offers the physical presence brought to the game by Lukaku and while Rooney is a Premier League veteran, Vlasic and Sandro could need time to adapt to their new surroundings.

Likewise, Dominic Calvert-Lewin impressed in his first campaign in the top-flight last term but, for obvious reasons, at 20 years of age the former Sheffield United forward is far from being the finished article.

Everton have found the net just twice in the first three league games of the campaign - which, admittedly, saw them travel to Manchester City and Chelsea - but should their profligacy in front of goal continue Koeman might wish that Giroud had not consulted his wife.