Everton set to offer unwanted Arsenal forward a way out

Everton are ready to rival West Ham and Marseille in an attempt to sign Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud, according to The Sun.

The news comes amid long-standing reports that Romelu Lukaku will leave the Toffees this summer, with Chelsea and Manchester United thought to be battling it out for the Belgian’s signature.

Everton are thought to be commanding a fee in the region of £80m for their top scorer and would be willing to spend a quarter of that price to try and snare Giroud from their Premier League rivals.

Arsenal are believed to be ready to offload the Frenchman this summer as they bid to rebuild their squad having missed out on Champions League football for the first time in 20 years.

Giroud played a diminished role in the club’s fifth-placed finish last season, hinting that his time at the Emirates may well be up.

That said, with just 11 of 29 league appearances coming from the start, a return of 12 goals was a very respectable haul, with a strike rate of a goal every 99.8 minutes bettered only by Harry Kane (every 87.4 minutes) of those to reach double figures in last season’s Premier League.