WHAT does it take to make a Premiership striker?

Evidently a lot more talent than that of Bobby Zamora, the prolific young marksman who has fired Brighton to the top of Division Two, or Milan Osterc, who has been starring and scoring in Hapoel Tel Aviv's incredible UEFA Cup run.

Wanderers have been linked with both players as Sam Allardyce scours the globe for a striker to provide cover for Michael Ricketts and Dean Holdsworth.

But amazingly honest assessments from people who know them well suggest neither is quite ready for the Premiership.

Rachel Anderson, who represents Slovenian international Osterc, reckons her 26-year-old client is "not quite the finished article".

Tell that to Hapoel fans who have seen him score four goals in five UEFA Cup games this season - including the one at Stamford Bridge which helped the Israeli side to a 3-1 aggregate win over Chelsea in the second round.

Osterc, who is out of contract at end of the season, is eager to test himself in the Premiership. Anderson says: "He can score goals and would love the challenge in England but his potential is enormous.

"He needs to play here for a while to smooth off his rough edges."

On the home front, Allardyce made a personal check on Zamora when he scored his 17th goal of the season in the 2-0 win at Bury last Saturday.

He actually sat next to Brighton boss Peter Taylor, fuelling speculation that a deal is in the offing. But Taylor, who has rubbished transfer talk, suggests his 20-year-old striker isn't ready yet.

"He wants to play in the Premiership but when he gets there he wants to do it right," Taylor advises, "and I think that at this stage staying with us would be a great help to his career.

"He is certainly very important to us but when the time is right and somebody offers us a fantastic sum then we will talk to the player. Until then I'm turning my phone off."

While on the subject of Wanderers, Taylor took the opportunity to acknowledge the part Allardyce played in his downfall at Leicester.

"The only reason why I'm here with Brighton is because Sam's team beat me 5-0 on the opening day of the season," he moaned, painfully recalling Wanderers' sensational 5-0 opening day win at Filbert Street, which ultimately cost him the sack!