Like most Premier League clubs over the summer, Everton were looking for a striker, one capable of sharing Romelu Lukaku’s goalscoring burden if and when resting the Belgian was needed.
The club clearly drew up a list of potential candidates, which included the likes of Napoli’s Manolo Gabbiadini and Juventus’ Simone Zaza, and if that wasn’t enough Serie A, you can now add Nicola Kalinic to that list.
According to Calciomercato, the Croatian striker, who is now a potential target for Napoli following Arkadiusz Milik’s injury, was the subject of a €30m offer from Everton, one Fiorentina rejected at the behest of their manager.
Sousa, who took over from Vincenzo Montella back in the summer of 2015, had apparently made it clear to his board they were not to accept offers for his striker, to which the club listened to.
The Italian website say this statement sent by La Viola in the summer should be an indirect message to their Serie A rivals, who have Kalinic as their number one man on the Milik replacement list.
Since the start of the season, the 28-year-old has scored two goals and picked up one assist in eight appearances in all competitions.
