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Everton head coach Ronald Koeman has revealed that the Toffees were close to pursuing the services of Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud during the summer transfer window.
The France international was limited to just 11 starts in the Premier League last term, and this led to suggestions that he could push for a fresh challenge in the summer.
However, the 30-year-old decided to stay put at the Emirates, and he recently scored his 100th Gunners goal during the 4-2 triumph over BATE Borisov in the Europa League.
In a report covered by The Express, Koeman admitted that the club had underlined Giroud as the prime striker target, but a deal could not happen.
He said: "When we sold Lukaku, I didn't think at that time we would get a striker in who would score at least 25 goals because maybe it is impossible to find that striker. What I expected was to get more goals from other players around the striker."
"That was the reason we needed a target man because that gives options for the team and finally we did not find a good target. We thought we had Olivier Giroud and that didn't happen."
In the absence of a goalscoring striker, Koeman tried his luck with forgotten ace Oumar Niasse, and the Senegalese did not disappoint as he bagged a match-winning brace in the win over Bournemouth last weekend.
Written by Sri Aswin
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