George Overhill

Sat 13 May 2023 16:40, UK

The pressure is mounting on Everton in their pursuit of Salernitana loanee Boulaye Dia as his asking price has almost tripled, but the deal is still there to be done.

Senegal international striker Dia is on loan from Villarreal and has a permanent redemption clause of €12million [£10.5million], with the move expected to be a formality at the end of the season after a campaign in which he has scored 15 and assisted six more in Serie A so far.

Salernitana have been eyeing the possibility of immediately selling him on for a profit once they have signed him permanently, with Everton long-term admirers after attempting to get his parent club to sell him directly during the early months of the loan [Tutto Salernitana, 12 October].

Now, according to Tutto Mercato Web on Friday (12 May) his form in Italy has got prospective Champions League finalists Inter sniffing around – they lead Milan rivals 2-0 after the first leg.

And the amount of profit that his current club are looking to bank has emerged as the asking price is apparently as high as €35million [£30.7million].

While the finances at Everton are notoriously troublesome of late the news doesn’t need to end their pursuit of a player who appears to be providing the kind of all-round attacking output that Richarlison gave the Toffees at crucial times last year.

Abdoulaye Doucouré has developed into a surprise substitute under Sean Dyche, but the manager must add to his squad up front even allowing for his excellent work to get Dominic Calvert-Lewin back to full fitness.

Inter themselves are hardly flush with cash despite their lofty position in Europe, so may not be in a position to splash out such a fee, especially if Chelsea are willing to sanction another Romelu Lukaku loan deal.

While Everton may not be able to match the asking price in cash alone, with other areas that need strengthening and it yet to be made clear what is available to spend, they do have Neal Maupay as an asset.

Salernitana tried to sign the Toffees misfit previously, and have been reported as recently as 5 May [Tutto Salernitana] as likely to come back in for him.

Allowing for his one-goal nightmare season on Merseyside he could potentially reduce the fee for Dia by as much as half in a cash-plus-player deal, while moving a striker off the wage bill who looks to have little in the way of long-term future at Everton.

The Toffees want Dia, Salernitana want Maupay, and the Frenchman’s agent heavily implied he would be open to the move [via Fabrizio Romano Twitter, 21 March] as well, the missing confirmation is Dia’s plans.

If he is open to a Premier League move then a transfer can surely be arranged, if, and it is a fairly big if, the likes of Inter can’t stretch to £30million in cash.

Should the Italian giants pursue the deal then Champions League football would of course be a draw, but for now there is reason for hope yet at Everton given the factors involved.