David Moyes not ruled out playing Iliman Ndiaye upfront ahead of Monday night’s game.
Everton travel to the Stadium of Light for a league game against the in-form Black Cats.
The Toffees have been goal shy in the past two fixtures, suffering consecutive league defeats.
During his pre-match press conference, Moyes was asked about his misfiring forward line.
Indeed, the Everton boss hinted that Iliman Ndiaye could take on a central role, rather than playing out wide.
The Everton manager said: “I will look to see if there are other options and if I think I’m not getting what I want, I’ll look to see what else there is. We’ve got two people who are number nines or that way.
“Ili, you mentioned, gives you less of a focal point and changes how you may have to play and build at different times if you do that.
“We’ve got one or two other people who could possibly come into that debate as well but we won’t bury our head in the sand, we’re certainly thinking about it.”
NDIAYE SHOULD PLAY UPFRONT AT SUNDERLAND
Ndiaye was Everton’s top scorer last season with 11 goals, and leads the way so far this year with three.
Meanwhile, Beto has found the net in just one league game, while Thierno Barry is yet to get off the mark.
Ndiaye is the best finisher at the club. He would no doubt have scored the chances Beto has missed in recent weeks.
It would also send a message to both centre-forwards that they must up their game, or they will be replaced.
This would be a positive move from Moyes. It would certainly give Sunderland’s defence more to consider on Monday evening.
Either way, a striker is a must come the January transfer window.
