Everton
Premier League • England
Report ‘confirms’ Everton as ‘most interested club’ in 16-goal striker; Dyche delighted as transfer solution emerges
Everton have been named as the ‘most interested club’ in Serie A centre-forward Boulaye Dia, and a report has revealed the ace Sean Dyche has up his sleeve to finalise a deal.
Dia joined Italian club Salernitana on loan from Villarreal in August 2022. The France-born Senegal international did very well during his first season in Italy, notching 16 goals in 33 league appearances. He finished third in the Serie A scoring charts, behind Victor Osimhen and Lautaro Martinez but ahead of big names such as Rafael Leao, Olivier Giroud and Paulo Dybala.
Salernitana had the option to buy Dia following the end of his loan spell and they activated it earlier this year. As per transfermarkt, Salernitana spent €12million (£10.4m) when landing Dia on a permanent basis.
However, his time at the club could be short-lived. Dia’s goalscoring exploits have resulted in plenty of links with English clubs. The likes of Everton, West Ham and Leeds United have all been backed to submit offers for him.
On May 2, Dia’s agent made a hint about a summer move by admitting he will ‘discuss a transfer’ once Salernitana’s season is complete.
Recently, Everton have appeared to be the best-placed English club to sign the attacker. On Wednesday, it emerged that they could use striker flop Neal Maupay in a player-plus-cash deal for Dia.
According to the latest from Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport (as cited by Sport Witness), both of those rumours are true.
The report has ‘confirmed’ that Everton are the ‘most interested club’ in Dia. And Maupay is described as an ‘ace’ up Dyche’s sleeve as the manager looks to bring Dia to the Prem.
Everton could strike player-plus-cash deal
This is because Salernitana director of football Morgan de Sanctis is a big fan of Maupay and has been for some time. He believes that the 26-year-old, who has only netted one goal in 29 games for Everton, would be a great replacement for Dia in the Salernitana attack.
Due to this, it would make sense for Everton to try and include Maupay in their negotiations for Dia.
The Toffees previously could have signed Dia for his €25m (£21.6m) release clause, though that expired on Thursday night.
Salernitana have now set their asking price at €40m (£34.6m). That may seem like a huge increase, but it does make sense as Villarreal have a 20 per cent sell-on clause in Dia’s contract.
Everton fans would be delighted if their side improved their striker ranks with the capture of Dia. So far, they have only managed to sign wide man Ashley Young on a free transfer from Aston Villa.
Centre-forward is a position that Dyche must solve this summer after what happened last season. Between them, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Maupay only managed three goals across all competitions.
Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag’s transfer plans have crumbled after a Manchester United attacker rejected Everton’s advances.