Everton manager David Moyes may be forced to scour the transfer market to find some assistance for Tim Cahill.
The Australian midfielder has scored eight of 18 for the Toffees so far this season but Moyes wants a new striker to help fill the void when Cahill is away on national team duty for the Asian Cup in January.
"Until I find out whether it is just the strikers, I won't know whether the squad need breaking up," Moyes said.
"I might get a great striker in January and find that something else is wrong.
"But I have got to plug that gap first. I hope somebody other than Tim Cahill can score goals for us.
"He leaves us early January so we need others to step up to the plate."