Everton face fight with Liverpool to sign Max Kruse
By Paul Taylor
As Everton continues their search for another forward, they have reportedly turned their attention to Max Kruse, but will face competition from Liverpool for his services.
As we wrote on Friday, the 1-0 win over Ruzomberok revealed a potential flaw up front for Everton. Without Romelu Lukaku, the Blues need to replace a player who averaged a goal every 1.77 games, during his time on Merseyside.
Up to this point, potential targets have included Oliver Giroud, Gabriel Barbosa, Islam Slimani and Edin Dzeko. However, none have yet to turn into anything more concrete.
With this in mind, another option has been identified. As reported by the Mirror, the Toffees are apparently interested in Max Kruse.
Kruse is coming off an impressive season with Werder Bremen, where he scored a career-high 15 goals. He has spent his entire professional career playing in Germany, scoring 63 times during six seasons in the Bundesliga. (He also has 20 goals in two seasons in the second tier.)
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The 29-year-old also has experience at the international level, with Germany. He has made 14 appearance since 2013 and scored four goals.
With all this in mind, what would it take to sign Kruse, who still has two years remaining on his current contract? According to the Mirror, he could be available for around £13 million.
As you’d expect, Everton will face competition to sign the Reinbek-born player. In an interesting twist, this will apparently include Liverpool, who also have a reported interest in the forward.
Away from the pitch, Kruse is renowned for being an avid poker player. The question is, how much are the Blues prepared to gamble, to ensure he ends up moving to the blue half of Merseyside?
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What’s your take on the Blues’ reported interest in Kruse? How does he compare to other forwards the Toffees have been linked with and who is your preferred choice? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.