According to reports in The Times on March 16, Everton are reportedly ready to offer Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere a huge £8m sign-on fee to convince him to move to Goodison Park.

The England international's contract at the Emirates Stadium is due to expire at the end of the season and while The Times says that the 26-year-old's preference is to stay in north London, the two parties aren't close to an agreement with Arsenal offering a reduced wage worth £80,000-a-week with extra bonus incentives.

It remains to be seen whether Wilshere will eventually back down, but if not he will be a free agent this summer and it appears as though the Toffees are ready to make a big play to bring him to Merseyside to strengthen their side.

He could end up replacing Morgan Schneiderlin in the XI, with the Frenchman falling from grace since an impressive start to his Everton career in the second-half of the 2016/17 campaign, coming under huge criticism from his own fans and being left out of the starting line-up by manager Sam Allardyce in recent weeks.

The 63-year-old manager shouldn't put all of his eggs into one basket for Wilshere though, and there are plenty of other players across European football that could prove to be an upgrade in that position, including Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder and 2014 World Cup finalist Christoph Kramer, who is rated at £12.6m according to Transfermarkt.

Here are three reasons Everton should forget Wilshere and sign the Germany international instead…

While Wilshere has made 31 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal this season, there are still doubts over his long-term fitness and how consistently he will be available because of the injury problems he has suffered in the past.

Yes, the 26-year-old could be a great signing for a club like Everton because of the qualities he has on the ball, but while it may be a predictable argument, it would also have to be seen as a huge risk because of the serious injuries and niggles he has had previously.

The Merseyside outfit would certainly be taking less of a risk in many ways by targeting a player like Kramer, and it perhaps should be something they choose to do considering the mistakes they have made in the transfer markets in recent times.

The 6ft 3in German can play in either a defensive or central midfield role, and according to WhoScored.com his main strengths are his passing, concentration and his ability to make tackles and blocks.

The stats-based website says the 27-year-old has a passing accuracy of 87.4% in 21 Bundesliga appearances for Borussia Monchengladbach this season, while he has won 69 of the 101 tackles he has attempted, as well as making 26 blocks and 38 interceptions.

The midfielder is also good at bringing the ball forward and good in the air, and he showed the technical ability he has and the impact he can make in the final third too with a fine volley in the 1-0 win against Hannover 96 last month.

The 27-year-old has plenty of experience of playing in the Bundesliga, the Champions League and the Europa League for both Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen previously, while he has 12 caps for Germany, including an appearance for them at the 2014 World Cup final.

That shows the quality the midfielder has and the know-how he could bring to the Everton midfield alongside the likes of Idrissa Gueye and Tom Davies as they look to push on and qualify for Europe next season, as well as beginning to compete with the top six clubs in the Premier League.

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