Everton are hopeful of signing Olivier Giroud from Arsenal as they continue their extensive summer recruitment drive, according to a Sky journalist.
Ronald Koeman’s side have been the most active of the Premier League sides in terms of signing major players and took their number of new recruits to six after agreeing a sensational deal for Wayne Rooney on Sunday.
Sky Sports correspondent Kaveh Solkehol said there is a good chance that the 31-year-old will be followed through the Goodison Park entrance door by another proven Premier League striker.
Solkehol claimed on his personal Twitter account on Sunday afternoon that Everton believe they have a “50% chance” of landing the France international this summer.
Wayne Rooney done. Everton now focusing on Olivier Giroud. They believe they have 50% chance of signing the Arsenal striker
— Kaveh Solhekol (@SkyKaveh) July 9, 2017
Everton have turned their attention to signing Giroud, who has also attracted interest from West Ham and French big guns Marseille.
The 30-year-old is likely to be on the fringes of the Arsenal team next season after they smashed their transfer record to sign Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon for a potential £52million.
Giroud was often overlooked in favour of Alexis Sanchez for the spearhead role last season, while Danny Welbeck also got the nod from Arsene Wenger on a number of occasions.
Nevertheless, the 64-times France international has an impressive scoring record at Arsenal, with 227 matches in all competitions yielding 98 goals and 41 assists.
In the Premier League alone, he has scored 69 times in 164 matches.
Everton sold Romelu Lukaku for a reported world-record fee of £90million on Sunday but have added Rooney and Sandro Ramirez to their striker ranks in the last week.