Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson has revealed that he will look to boost his forward line in the January transfer window.
With Connor Wickham and Christian Benteke on the sidelines, Palace, who are bottom of the Premier League table, have played without a recognised striker over the last few weeks.
Hodgson has confirmed that he will not be looking to sign any new defenders or midfielders at the start of 2018, but has accepted that Palace "need forward additions".
"Take Newcastle - they have four senior centre-forwards. We're going into matches without one. Four to zero - that's obviously ridiculous. Even if Benteke is fit, even if Connor Wickham gets fit sooner than expected, we still need forward additions," Hodgson told the London Evening Standard.
"The type of centre-forward will be important and that will depend on Benteke's progress. Do we want to clone Benteke or do we want someone slightly different who will complement him? Premier League experience is a bonus but we can't rule out taking players from outside the country.
"I don't need competition for Wilf (Wilfried) Zaha. I don't need competition for [Yohan] Cabaye or Luka [Milivojevic]. I don't need any centre-backs... I don't know what the budget is - that's something for [chairman] Steve Parish. I hope and believe if there is extra support he can give us in January, he will do it because he loves and cares deeply about this club."
Former England manager Hodgson replaced Frank de Boer as Palace boss on September 12.
Matt Law
