Everton are planning to make a £30m bid for the striker

Everton, like their arch-rivals Liverpool, are deep in a significant slump in form at the moment.

All in all, it has been another satisfactory Premier League campaign with David Moyes in charge, as the Toffees will finish comfortably in mid-table, rather than being swallowed up by the threat of relegation.

But recent results, such as last month’s last-minute defeat to West Ham United, and Manchester City going on to score a last-minute equaliser, have exposed the Merseyside giants as too soft.

Some reinforcements in the summer could be needed to give the Toffees a new injection of life ahead of next campaign, with a new striker to lead the line perhaps the most important thing.

Everton are planning a £30m bid for the striker

Beto has come into his own in recent games, even with Everton’s poor run of results, with a blistering strike against Chelsea in late March ultimately costing Liam Rosenior his Blues job.

However, despite the former Udinese man getting his shooting boots, he still has just nine Premier League goals to his name this season from 35 games, and Everton are desperate for an even more dangerous striker to lead the line.

That’s where Liam Delap could come in handy, with reports this weekend suggesting Moyes and Co are plotting a move for the Chelsea attacker, before the summer transfer window opens, who once cost the West London outfit a steep £30m.

They are willing to make an offer during negotiations to take Delap on loan, but hope to include an option to buy.

How Delap could be Everton’s new Lukaku

The hope will be that the former Ipswich Town striker will soon hit the ground running at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, if the move can be accelerated, as Romelu Lukaku managed all those years ago.

When Lukaku arrived at Everton in the summer of 2013, the concern would have been that the Antwerp-born striker would continue to be seen as a flop at Goodison Park.

After all, he had already failed to start life at Chelsea, with no goals for the Blues in a miserable ten Premier League outings.

Thankfully, for his own sake, he has gone on to become a modern icon at Everton, and the £28m fee snapped up for the 6-foot-3 striker in 2014, after he made his loan deal permanent, went down as a fantastic sum.

Indeed, Lukaku has become a feared goal machine for top-flight defenses to keep in check, wearing Everton blue, with a staggering 68 strikes coming in the Premier League alone in four seasons on Merseyside.

Delap will be praying for a similar burst of success in life, should he decide to undertake the same feat as the 124-cap Belgium international, as his Chelsea career so far has never really kicked into gear.

In 45 games at Stamford Bridge so far, the former Manchester City academy player has managed to concede a disappointing goal three times, leading Alan Shearer to publicly slam him as the Blues’ “laziest” player.

However, it is clear from his past performances, away from Chelsea’s pressing environment, that he can be a hot shot finisher, like Lukaku on his Everton debut.

At Ipswich last season, as they battled relegation, Delap scored 12 Premier League points from 32 starts, leading Chelsea to risk the 23-year-old after the season. He will also be referred to as “the monster” in Tractor Boys by his former Portman Road co-star Alex Palmer.

A move to Chelsea didn’t work out for him, but the former England U21 must put this disappointment to one side soon if he wants to have a successful career at the top.

Lukaku couldn’t let his disappointing performances at Chelsea get the better of him, and now has 121 Premier League strikes to his name.

Delap will want to follow in his footsteps, the 23-year-old is at an important crossroads in his career now, as he could be seen as a hotshot for the Toffees, as Lukaku was, or another bad move weighs heavily on his shoulders.