According to a report from SportBild, West Ham United are one of five Premier League clubs tracking Werder Bremen striker Max Kruse this summer.

The Toffees – along with West Ham United, Southampton, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion – are all said to be interested in bringing the Germany international to England following an impressive campaign from the 29-year-old.

The attacker only joined Werder from Wolfsburg last summer but he could already be set to leave the Bundesliga outfit for pastures new just a year on if the rumours are to be believed.

Ronald Koeman will be keen to significantly strengthen his squad in the coming weeks as the club look to deal with the fixture congestion that could come following their qualification for the Europa League, while they will want to continue competing in the English top flight.

Here are three reasons Everton must win the race to sign Kruse…

They need a new striker

With Arouna Kone leaving the club following the expiration of his contract and Enner Valencia returning to West Ham United following the conclusion of his season-long loan deal at Goodison Park, it leaves Koeman with a real lack of striking options next season.

Of course, Romelu Lukaku will be first choice if he stays but his future is still up in the air too. It means that bringing in a new forward will be a priority for Koeman and he could do a lot worse than take a closer look at Kruse.

His goalscoring record

Having scored 15 goals in just 23 Bundesliga appearances last season and 37 between 2012 and 2015, Kruse looks set to guarantee goals and that is what Everton need.

While he was brilliant, the Toffees relied far too heavily on Lukaku to find the net this season and they will need other players to step up to the plate when they are competing in both the Premier League and the Europa League next term.

The 14-cap German certainly looks as though he could solve that issue, while he has experience of playing in Europe for Borussia Monchengladbach and Wolfsburg too.

His price tag

Werder Bremen may have to sell Kruse this summer if they receive an offer of £10.5million as part of a clause inserted in his contract when he joined them from Wolfsburg last year.

While Everton certainly have a big transfer budget to spend over the next few months, they also like to get a bargain – as shown by the £7.1m purchase of Idrissa Gueye last summer – and that could tempt them to do a deal for the prolific 29-year-old.

Do you agree, Toffees fans? Let us know below.