BBC pundit Chris Sutton has claimed that Everton will not be able to sign a striker as good as Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the January transfer market.

What's the word?

With the Toffees now stuck down at the bottom of the Premier League table, only one place from the very root of the table due to superior goal difference, it's little wonder they are rumoured to want some new signings.

For instance, the Sunday Mirror (via The Boot Room) have reported that Everton are in talks to sign Duvan Zapata on loan, which could include the option to buy for £15m.

However, while speaking on the BBC Radio Show 606, Sutton insisted that no good striker would want to join the club as they are in 'disarray' at the moment.

He explained (1:06:34): “You're going to need Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Let me tell you, there is little chance of Everton signing a striker as good as Dominic Calvert-Lewin in January.

"Because you are a club, you're currently in the relegation zone, it's a club in disarray. And you know, if Everton do go in for players, you know, players will be looking at the situation thinking: 'Why would I want to sign for this club at this moment in time?'

"It has a great history but it's a club which has lost this way. So you cannot tell me that top, top players are out they're desperate to sign for Everton when they can go somewhere else and have an easy life.”

DCL or bust?

Perhaps backing up Sutton's claim, the Sun journalist Alan Nixon has claimed that Danny Ings is ‘happy’ to continue to work hard to fight for his place at Aston Villa amid loan interest from the Toffees.

And when you consider that Everton are winless in their last nine outings across all competitions – with their last win coming against Crystal Palace in October –  it's hard to see why anyone would be that keen to join Frank Lampard's project.

As for Calvert-Lewin, injuries have prevented him from making any real impact this season but when he was fully fit for the 2020/21 campaign, he managed to net 16 league goals.

And so, the club may well just have to hope the Englishman can keep himself healthy over the coming months if they are to have a hope in this relegation fight they are caught in.