Should Everton consider signing Robin van Persie in January?
By virtue of the fact Romelu Lukaku is responsible for six of Everton’s 13 goals this season, it could be argued that the Toffees are very much reliant on the big Belgian.
And considering manager Ronald Koeman does not have many – if any – viable alternatives to Lukaku in the event of injury, it could also be argued that Everton’s season hinges on whether the 23-year-old remains fit.
With that in mind, the Dutch manager absolutely needs to bolster his strikeforce in January, and a certain Robin van Persie should be considered.
The former Arsenal and Manchester United hitman has 144 Premier League goals under his belt from 280 games, but can he still do it?
He turned 33 in August and although he has undoubtedly lost a bit of pace in recent years, speed was never a huge reason why he was such a devastating striker in England.
The Netherlands international simply specialises in scoring goals and it will be a while before such a phenomenal ability deserts him. The aging process will not deprive him of his knack for finding the net, which he did at Old Trafford on Thursday, but he has only started one of Fenerbahce’s five league games this season.
Perhaps he can no longer be a team’s first-choice striker, but Everton don’t need one of those at the moment, nor will they find a better one than Lukaku in January. What they do need is a plan-b and Van Persie is very attainable.
By January, he will have 18 months left on his contract and if his comments in September via The Express were anything to go by then he could be tempted back to the Premier League – and for a modest fee.
In Koeman, he would not only be working with a compatriot but a fine man-manager who can salvage a bit of the class that Van Persie showed in England for many years.
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