Everton bid £13.6m for Boulaye Dia, Salernitana respond as Neal Maupay option emerges

Everton have tabled a £13.6m bid for Boulaye Dia which has been rejected by Salernitana, according to TuttoMercatoWeb.

Writing on their official website (28 July), the Toffees are said to have seen their first bid for the Senegalese forward turned down but talks are continuing.

In fact, Everton are set to return with a new offer and could include Neal Maupay in the deal with the Serie A club keen on reigniting their interest in the French forward.

“In the Premier League there is above all Everton who, after the first offer of 16 million euros returned to the sender, are ready to relaunch. And to put on the plate a very welcome counterpart to the grenade,” they wrote.

“According to ‘TuttoSalernitana’, in fact, in the next match with sporting director De Sanctis, Neal Maupay , a striker already sought by Salernitana last summer, will be put on the plate.”

Everton’s interest in Dia has been well documented in recent months, so it’s no surprise to see a bid go in or for Maupay to be on the table too.

But to offer £13.6m for a player who had a £21m release clause that expired recently is bizarre, especially when they didn’t even want to sell him for that amount at the time.

Now that the clause is inactive Salernitana are said to want a lot more for him, so Everton low-balling a bid is unlikely to go down well and it’s no shock it was rejected quickly.

Putting Maupay into the mix could work well, but if that is an option then it begs the question why it wasn’t explored much earlier in the window considering the new season is just two weeks away.

A new striker is still the priority and is needed, but the board need to get their act together to ensure Sean Dyche isn’t left short once again.

In other Everton news, double strike blow suffered as a new priority target emerges.

EVERTON NOW PLOTTING SWAP DEAL TO SIGN 16-GOAL STRIKER SADIO MANE PRAISED

Everton are chasing Salernitana striker Boulaye Dia and could launch a part-exchange deal involving Neal Maupay.

Boulaye Dia is a key target for Everton and Neal Maupay may end up heading in the opposite directio

That is according to Tutto Salernitana, who have been discussing Dia’s future at Salernitana.

It’s stated that Everton didn’t want to pay the €25million (£21.5million) release clause which was valid in Dia’s contract until July 20th.

Everton would instead prefer to negotiate a deal and they may end up launching a swap.

The report claims that Salernitana want to sign Maupay having also targeted him last summer.

Salernitana would move for Maupay if Dia leaves and that has opened the door for a potential exchange.

Everton would still have to cough up some cash alongside Maupay, but Salernitana’s interest in the Frenchman gives the Toffees a real chance to engineer an intriguing deal.

Who is Everton target Boulaye Dia?

Dia hails from Oyonnax, just between Lyon and the Swiss border, and started his career with little-known club Jura Sud Foot.

An impressive goalscoring record there resulted in a move to Stade de Reims, who initially put Dia into their B team.

Dia gradually became more and more important, scoring four goals in 2018-19 campaign, eight in 2019-20 and then 16 in 2020-21.

That consistent improvement handed Dia his big move as he headed to Spain with Villarreal – but the move didn’t really work out.

Dia managed only seven goals in 35 games before being sent on loan to Salernitana last summer.

The Senegal International was exceptional last season, smashing 16 goals in 33 outings to tempt Salernitana into turning his move permanent.

That’s the kind of goalscoring ability Everton need and Sean Dyche could take a punt on Dia whilst also offloading Maupay, which seems pretty much ideal.

Sadio Mane admitted in 2021 that he was ‘really impressed’ with Dia and Everton could now offer him a move to Merseyside.