Ronald Koeman has ­admitted his frustration at the “ridiculous” transfer market which destroyed his bid to land a top striker.

But the Everton manager believes his failure to bring in a No.1 hitman to replace Romelu Lukaku will offer a major chance to the talented young forwards in his squad to stake a claim to stardom.

Koeman is realistic enough to know that even had he signed a frontline player, finishing in the top four without Lukaku’s goals would be a big ask.

He said: “Getting to the top, even with maybe the best striker in, is very difficult. ­Because everybody is making their squad stronger.

Koeman has been left frustrated by the transfer market (
Image:
Tony McArdle/Everton FC)
Rooney has caused Koeman a headache (
Image:
Everton FC via Getty Images)

“But OK, we try. We brought some good young players. If we get development of young players, the team will be stronger. We need ­productivity. We lost 25 goals – that’s a lot.

“We need to find that between a number of players and that is ­difficult.” Koeman was thought to be strongly in the ­running to sign Olivier Giroud from ­Arsenal, but that deal stalled because of doubts over the position of Alexis Sanchez.

The Dutchman revealed he was convinced he’d get his No.1 choice at centre-­forward and, when those hopes were destroyed, his back-up plan was also dashed because of the crazy fees being demanded in the final days of the window.

“I thought we had got our option one,” he said. “I don’t mention names, because it is not my job to do names, but I was really ­disappointed about that option one, because ­everybody thought we had him.

“You need to understand you have option two and three, and the right price for the right player is also where we have to look.

Koeman has revamped the Toffees this summer (
Image:
AFP)

“Sometimes, if you are interested in a player and you know what they ask for that player, it is ridiculous.”

Now Koeman has been left with young England prospect ­Dominic Calvert-Lewin (top left) and Spanish Under-21 ­sensation Sandro ­Ramirez (bottom left) to take the burden up front. He believes with the help of older stars, such as Wayne Rooney, they can thrive, starting with ­today’s visit of Spurs.

“We will give more opportunities to the strikers we have in the team,” he added. “But we have to ­understand ­Ramirez is 22 and Dominic is 20 – it’s Premier League, not junior football, and they need time to adapt and improve.

“It is important for them to have older players they can learn from. You cannot ­expect Ramirez to ­already be that striker. He needs time.”

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