Everton join Arsenal in race for Eto'o

Everton have emerged as surprise contenders to sign Cameroon captain Samuel Eto’o.

The 33-year-old striker is a free agent after completing his one-year deal with Chelsea and Arsenal are believed to be keen on bringing him to the Emirates Stadium.

But Everton, who are also hoping to secure a permanent return to Goodison Park for Romelu Lukaku, are planning a move for Eto’o according to Italian website Tuttomercatoweb.

The former Inter Milan and Barcelona forward has won three UEFA Champions League titles in his career, scoring in two finals, and is his country’s all-time top goalscorer He scored 14 goals for Jose Mourinho’s team last season but fell out with the manager who was filmed questioning his age when he thought he was talking off the record.

Eto’o hit back by referring to the Portuguese as a fool and pointing out that ‘the old man was better than the youngsters’. A point of discouragement for Everton is that Eto’o said in May he has ‘regained the joy of the Champions League’ and intends to carry on playing in that competition, something which the Toffees can’t currently offer.

Everton boss Roberto Martinez’s only senior strikers at the moment are Arouna Kone and Steven Naismith, both of whom are regularly deployed out wide, so reinforcements are clearly necessary.