Everton are willing to pay £34.7m to Boulaye Dia from Salernitana after edging closer to signing Arnaut Danjuma, according to Calciomercato.
Writing on their official website (20 July), the Italian outlet report that the Toffees are interested in signing the striker and are willing to pay more than his current £21.7m release clause, which expires at midnight on Thursday (20 July), to get a deal done.
But with his clause expiring Salernitana are hoping to get up to £34.7m for the Senegal striker, although Everton are hopeful their interest in Neal Maupay could see that fee lowered.
“€40 million (£34.7m) for Dia can be paid by Everton, the most “warlike” of the English teams who would gladly add Salernitana’s number 29 to their offensive line, even if today’s news of the acceleration from Liverpool for Danjuma from Villarreal,” they wrote.
“However, the expiry of the release clause does not necessarily mean that Dia will leave for more than €25 million (£21.7m): much will depend on the player’s will, the timing of the deal and Salernitana’s possibility of signing another striker (speaking of the Toffees, it concerns Maupay).
If Everton are really interested in signing Dia, then surely with our financial situation as it is we’d be better off triggering that release clause immediately and getting a deal done.
Paying more for the player later in the window makes very little sense, unless there is something more to the deal.
If the club are able to pay the same amount and get Maupay off the books in the process then it would obviously make sense to wait it out, but with the release clause no longer in the picture it makes our negotiation position a lot weaker heading into the business end of the window.
Danjuma’s imminent arrival means that the club are no longer as desperate to add an attacker to the ranks, but more than Danjuma is needed this summer and everyone including Salernitana know that.
Hopefully this works out the way the club want it to otherwise they will end up paying far more than they needed to for a player who is obviously open to coming to Goodison Park.
In other Everton news, Dyche has “reluctantly” agreed to sell one first-team star to boost his transfer kitty for a striker.
