Pound for pound he’s the best in Europe
SAM HAILS £23M NEW BOY TOSUN
SAM ALLARDYCE will unleash “the best striker in Europe for the money” on Liverpool, as he gambles on FA Cup glory.
A £23million deal to bring Turkey’s No.1 striker Cenk Tosun to Goodison has been finalised.
And the Everton boss revealed the centre-forward will be on the bench in the derby – if his paperwork clears by the noon deadline.
And even though the 26-yearold has not played for three weeks, Allardyce revealed it will be a no-brainer to put him on the bench because he has the quality to deliver a huge victory that could make Everton’s season.
“If he is available for the bench, I think that is the best I’m going to get to,” said Big Sam
(right). “The situation has dragged on.
They finished just before
Christmas, so there has been a period where he has not done any training. “We would be cautious, but it is not impossible to get him in the squad on the bench.
“There is going to be a massive pressure on him – if we do clinch the signing – that he is successful straight away, which I’m cautious about.
“We can’t have researched any more and looked more at the qualities of the player, in terms of talent and goalscoring, and also from a resilience and mentality point of view. “You can’t look at more than we have done and think that this is – for what is available at the price we are paying – the best in Europe at the moment. “This lad looks like he’s got a huge, strong mentality and a good pedigree. “He is a player who is desperate to come to play in the Premier League and I like what he has done in the past as a footballer, particularly recently, as he is Turkey’s No.1 striker.
“He has scored goals in the Champions League and he has scored goals in the league. He’s a bit of an all-rounder.
“We will try to break him in gently, but I don’t think you break anyone in gently in January transfer windows. It is more sleeves rolled up and get on with it.”
Allardyce, who knows he can’t hold back against Liverpool, added: “You can’t not go with your strongest side to Anfield.
“We want to pick the best team and give it our best shot. We have to overcome Liverpool first. Then, after that, we can move on and see how far we can go.
“We want to be good enough on the night to win – because neither of us will want a replay.”