Sam Allardyce says he is under pressure to get his first signing for Everton right.
The new Toffees’ boss was asked ahead of Sunday’s derby game against Liverpool whether Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was a realistic target for the club.
Allardyce refused to rule out a move for the striker, but admitted he needed to avoid making mistakes in the transfer market.
“It is the hardest thing to recruit today – a centre-forward who scores goals and is the right type of centre-forward who scores goals for you,” he told Sky Sports.
“That’s the most expensive area on the pitch today.
“We’ve had a number of players here who have reasonably good goalscoring records who haven’t settled in.
“(Oumar) Niasse, when he came from Russia, but has scored a few this year, and Sandro who hasn’t quite settled yet but scored lots of goals at Malaga last year.
“There are people who have scored goals here but if there’s one out there that’s ready and ready-made it would be, 1) expensive and 2) you have to ask, ‘is it the right one?’
“It’s my opinion that my first signing has to be correct, has to be the right signing for Everton and for my future, because if you make bad signings, you get the sack.
“If you make good signings, you become a better manager.”
The 28-year-old has an outstanding scoring record in Germany’s Bundesliga.
He has netted 19 times in 20 games in all competitions — and over the last six seasons, the first two at France’s St Etienne, he has scored 114 league goals.
A move to Everton would be a surprise, but Aubameyang’s signing would be a big statement of intent and could persuade fans who wanted another manager that Allardyce is the right man for the job.
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