Everton’s Stubbs: We have missed an AJ for long time

Stubbs said: “I don’t want this to sound bad but he is a player that we have lacked for a number of years now.

“That’s me talking as a fan, rather than as a player, as I don’t think it would be just for me to do that. As a fan, we have missed that special someone.

“We have missed a prolific striker, who has scored 15-plus goals a season. Andrei Kanchelskis was the last person to break through that barrier and it’s been too long.

“All being well, AJ is going to beat that this season and it’s something we’ve badly needed.

“Every team that is challenging at the top needs a striker that is going to score a lot of goals and all credit to AJ. He and Vaughny were a constant threat and I’m glad I don’t have to mark them.”