Everton want Boulaye Dia and have contacted Villarreal seeking information about a potential deal for the Salternitana loanee.
The Toffees really needed to add attacking quality this summer, especially after selling Richarlison to Tottenham Hotspur.
Neal Maupay ended up arriving from Brighton and Hove Albion and Dominic Calvert-Lewin is back from injury, so Everton will hope to see them thrive moving forward.
Yet Everton may also need to eye up another striker to really bolster Frank Lampard’s options, with a new name linked today.
Everton want Boulaye Dia
Tutto Salernitana report that Everton are showing a real interest in signing Villarreal striker Boulaye Dia, who is currently on loan at Salernitana.
It’s stated that Salernitana do have a €12million (£10.5million) option to buy Dia but Everton are indicating that they would pay even more.
Everton would allegedly be willing to pay Villarreal up to €16million (£14million) to sign Dia.
Just how Villarreal could get out of that purchase option and instead sell Dia to Everton is very unclear, but it may take the striker refusing to join Salernitana permanently to make a deal happen.
It seems much more likely that Salernitana would purchase Dia and then attempt to sell him on for a profit.
Dia, 25, excelled with State de Reims in France, smashing 16 goals in the 2020-21 campaign to earn his move to Villarreal.
Seven goals in 35 games last season seemingly didn’t convince Villarreal though and they allowed him to join Salernitana.
Dia has made a big impact, racking up four goals in eight Serie A games for Davide Nicola’s side.
Sadio Mane admitted in 2021 that he was ‘really impressed’ with Dia, with the striker now potentially set to follow in Mane’s footsteps with a move to Merseyside.
This would likely be one for next summer rather than January, but Everton may now keep very close tabs on that purchase option Salernitana are sitting on.
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