Everton boss Dave Moyes is stepping up his pursuit of Middlesbrough striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni.

The Guardian says with James Vaughan out for four months with a dislocated shoulder and Tim Cahill now not expected to return to action until November, Moyes has only two recognised strikers available after the club opted to take £4m from Sheffield United for James Beattie.

"We didn't think we were going to need a centre-forward a couple of weeks ago but since then we've lost Vaughan," said Moyes before today's opening game with Wigan at Goodison Park. "I still thought we could have coped because I would have played Cahill as a centre-forward but now we've lost him as well. We've tried to go for two or three players in the last week or two and we're still trying."