Everton manager David Moyes recently responded to a comparison between his current striker Thierno Barry and former Toffees star Romelu Lukaku.
The French attacker has scored two goals in his last three Premier League matches for the club, which led to a question about his potential to be the next Lukaku on Merseyside.
When asked about the comparison, Moyes said: “Let’s be fair, if he does anything like what Lukaku did in this country, or even for Everton, we’ll be highly delighted, that’s for sure.”
However, Barry has only scored three goals in 21 appearances in his first year in the Premier League this season, per Sofascore, which means that he is still a long way from being a reliable presence up front.
Everton considering move for Premier League striker
The Toffees, though, are reportedly looking at signing another striker who could be Moyes’ own version of Lukaku at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
According to the Daily Mail, Everton are one of a number of clubs that have looked at a possible deal for Wolverhampton Wanderers centre-forward Jorgen Strand Larsen.
The report claims that the Toffees have considered an approach to sign the Norway international in the January transfer window to bolster their squad.
It adds that Wolves, who are bottom of the Premier League, are willing to cash in on the towering number nine for an offer of around £40m, which means that Everton know that they can see a bid accepted for him if they offer around that figure.
However, the Daily Mail reveals that Nottingham Forest, West Ham, Aston Villa, Newcastle, and Tottenham Hotspur have also shown interest in the attacker, suggesting that there could be some significant competition for his services before the end of the month.
Why Everton should sign Jorgen Strand Larsen
Lukaku scored 87 goals in 166 appearances for Everton in all competitions, per Transfermarkt, and hit double figures for goals in all four of his Premier League seasons at Goodison Park.
As aforementioned, Barry has only scored three goals in the Premier League. He also has never scored more than 11 league goals in a major European league, having scored 11 in LaLiga last term, per Sofascore.
Strand Larsen, meanwhile, has scored 13 or more goals in two of the last three seasons in the Premier League and LaLiga for Wolves and Celta Vigo, including 13 in LaLiga in the 2023/24 campaign and 14 in the English top-flight last term.
The Norway international, who was described as a “monster” by analyst Connor Holden, has only scored one goal in 19 league games this season, but he is playing for a side that have seven points and one win in the division.
When playing for teams with respectable league positions, in the last two seasons, Strand Larsen has proven that he can score goals on a regular basis in major European leagues.
24/25 PL
Strand Larsen
Rank vs STs
xG
10.27
Top 26%
Shots on target
34
Top 14%
xG on target
14.21
Top 12%
Goals
14
Top 14%
Assists
4
Top 18%
Aerial duels won
67
Top 14%
As you can see in the table above, the Wolves centre-forward was one of the top-performing strikers in the Premier League in the 2024/25 campaign, and showed off his physical presence by ranking highly for aerial duels won.
Lukaku was not only a goalscorer at Everton. Like Strand Larsen, the Belgian powerhouse provided a physical presence up front, ranking in the top 14% of strikers in the league for aerial duels won (136) in his last season at Goodison Park in the 2016/17 season, per FotMob.
This suggests that Strand Larsen could be a brilliant focal point for the Toffees, as Lukaku was, by winning aerial duels to hold the ball up and win flick-ons when Moyes’ side have to go long.
Meanwhile, his goalscoring record in seasons where he has not played in a dreadful team suggests that he has the potential to provide a consistent threat in the final third, just as the Belgian marksman did.
It will take a leap of faith from Everton, because of his poor output in the current campaign, but Moyes could land his own version of Lukaku in a £40m swoop for Strand Larsen, if he can get back to the form that he showed in the previous two seasons as a big goalscoring threat and physical presence up front.