Everton remain in the race for Salernitana forward Boulaye Dia, despite his €25m release clause expiring earlier this week.
That’s according to La Nazione, relayed by Firenze Viola and Viola News, who both cover the situation around the player today and a potential move to Goodison Park as Fiorentina are also among his suitors.
La Nazione report that the Viola club continue to monitor the situation around Dia, whose release clause expired earlier this week.
That’s led to Salernitana demanding €40m for a sale, a price that is out of reach for Fiorentina and indeed makes it difficult for any Italian club to sign him.
The same cannot be said of Everton and they have ‘come forward’ to negotiate a possible deal this summer. Fiorentina, meanwhile, are looking at other options to strengthen their attack.
In fact, the expiry of that clause has opened up the transfer possibilities, with Salernitana president Danilo Iervolino now able to examine any offers that may come forward. That could include ‘technical counterparts or bonuses’ to reach his demands.
In other words, a transfer is no longer a case of just paying €25m up front but could be done with a more varied formula. There is ‘ample room for manoeuvre’ to find an agreement.
Fiorentina know ‘there is competition’ from Everton for the player but it remains to be seen if any transfer happens as Dia is not pushing to leave and manager Paulo Sousa doesn’t want to lose him either.
With plenty of room for an agreement to be made, though, there is a belief that a deal is there to be done for the player.
The opportunity to add players into the mix would certainly suit Everton, who can now try and negotiate a way of including Neal Maupay in any agreement. He’s a long-term target for the Italian club and director of football Morgan de Sanctis and including him can help to bring Dia’s price down.
Indeed, given Everton’s finances it would not be surprising if they look for a deal including Maupay and bonuses to help bring down the initial cost and better suit their budget.
