Everton transfer news as £34.6m demand made for Boulaye Dia move
Serie A side Salernitana have demanded £34.6million for striker Boulaye Dia, with Everton remaining the most interested club, according to Corriere dello Sport.
The newspaper has reported (21 July, pg 14) that Salernitana’s billionaire owner Danilo Iervolino [Forbes] set the eight-figure fee after the 26-year-old’s £19.9million release clause expired at midnight on Friday (21 July) [Football Italia].
Now, the Toffees would have to pay Iervolino’s asking price if they want to get the deal done for the 16-goal season striker.
The initial near £20million release clause fee for Dia may have been a bit steep for Everton, especially considering their current financial issues.
But now they look to have missed the boat completely after his release clause expiry and would now have to pay an extra £15million for their man.
Dia had a successful loan spell at the Serie A side before his move was made permanent from Villarreal for £10.3million. He scored 16 goals in 33 appearances and has proven his goal-scoring ability across Europe at Ligue 1 side Reims and with the Yellow Submarine in La Liga.
With three of Europe’s top five leagues ticked off, perhaps Dia is bound for the Premier League with Everton. But the asking price will now most likely be too steep and a poor investment from SeanSalernitana’s side.
The Toffees are nearing a deal for Villarreal forward Arnaut Danjuma on loan [The Guardian]. Having already strengthened this area, perhaps their remaining funds would be better invested in their leaky defence or the stale midfield.
But what could Everton be missing out on, if they pass on Dia? They need a prolific and dependable goalscorer, which Dia has proven himself to be. If he could maintain his 0.54 non-penalty goals per 90 (84th percentile) and his 0.21 assists per 90 (86th percentile) [FBRef] in the Premier League, then Everton would likely not have to worry about slipping into a relegation battle.
However, adapting to the Premier League can be tough, and the Toffees do not have the funds to gamble on Dia this window.
In other Everton news, the club’s move for Manchester United’s 21-year-old winger has reportedly be turned down after direct talks.
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Everton: Conor Gallagher is the dream Doucoure heir
The Chelsea midfielder has been a long-standing transfer target for Everton.
Everton are in desperate need of reinforcements in the squad this summer following their troubling Premier League relegation scrap last season, and now a new update has emerged on a long-standing transfer target.
What’s the latest on Everton’s interest in Conor Gallagher?
According to journalist and transfer expert Dean Jones, Everton have tabled an offer for Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher.
Whilst speaking on the Ranks FC Ultras Podcast, Jones revealed:
“Conor Gallagher has been linked to West Ham. He is a name that has been thrown in there, my information on Gallagher is that he doesn’t want to leave Chelsea at all, but if he has to leave, he will consider it.
“Everton and Newcastle both have tabled offers, he is very aware of what he would get if he went to either of those clubs.”
What was Everton’s offer for Conor Gallagher?
It is no secret that the Toffees have been in hot pursuit of the England international for over 18 months, with former Everton and Chelsea boss Frank Lampard a huge admirer of the player during his time at Goodison Park.
Whilst Jones has not revealed the exact financial offer that has been made by the Merseyside club, Fabrizio Romano confirmed in late January that Everton had submitted a submitted a £45m offer for the talented midfielder.
As a result, it is now looking like Sean Dyche is keen to continue the pursuit of Gallagher, and if the former Burnley coach can seal a deal to bring him to Goodison Park this summer, it could provide him with a perfect successor for Abdoulaye Doucoure.
The Everton talisman revived his career on Merseyside upon the arrival of Dyche after being exiled due to a reported incident with Lampard. He ended up being the club’s hero on the final day of the season when he scored the winning goal against Bournemouth to save them from a drop into the Championship.
Doucoure was set to be out of contract this summer, however, the powerbrokers at Goodison were quick to trigger the one-year extension available on the 30-year-old’s deal, so will be seen in the Everton squad for the season ahead.
Now Dyche can get ahead in his plans for the future of the team by securing the signature of Gallagher, who would not only work wonders alongside Doucoure next season but would be the natural replacement when the player’s extension expires next summer.
When comparing Gallagher’s output with the Mali international’s last season, the Chelsea star shares a number of similarities to his positional peer in several key attributes, including pass completion (81.1% v 78.5%), shots on target rate (39.3% v 40%), shot-creating actions per 90 (2.61 v 2.65) and goal-creating actions per 90 (0.17 v 0.18), as per FBref.
Gallagher’s career has gone from strength to strength since his loan move to Crystal Palace back in 2021, and has since become a regular feature at Stamford Bridge and was also selected for the England squad in the 2022 World Cup, with Gareth Southgate a huge admirer of the midfielder, having lavished praise on him in the past:
“He’s not as experienced as some of the others but he has an impact in games and has a goal threat. When you look at midfielders, you often ask, ‘do they stop goals, create goals or score goals?’ He does a lot of all of that.”
With that in mind, there is no doubt that the signing of Gallagher would be a major coup for Everton and would become a valuable asset to Dyche in his pursuit to improve their performances and league standing next season.
