Fiorentina slap massive release clause on Everton’s January target

Everton’s hopes of landing a striker in January to ease the burden on Romelu Lukaku may have been dealt a sizeable flow from Fiorentina.

The Toffees had been hoping to land Nikola Kalinic, but his Serie A employers have whacked a huge £42m release clause on the forward.

While the fee is eye-watering in itself, it’s all the more staggering when you recall the Croatian’s utterly mediocre spell with Blackburn six years ago, and the fact that Fiorentina only spent £5m to sign him in 2015.

But to Kalinic’s credit, he has been in excellent form for Viola, hitting 12 goals in all competitions this season.

Sitting seventh in the table, Fiorentina are struggling to maintain hopes of landing a Champions League spot, so perhaps it’s unsurprising they’d be willing to let their top striker go without claiming a significant windfall.

But with Lukaku netting almost half of Everton’s Premier League goals this season, it makes sense for boss Ronald Koeman to bring in a striker, or at least additional support.

But even if they can’t land Kalinic next month, Everton look set for a busy January.

Manchester United outcast Memphis Depay is one man strongly tipped with a loan move to Goodison Park, while CSKA Moscow’s Alan Dzagoev is another target.

And Ajax’s 20-year-old sensation Riechedly Bazoer is another Koeman is hoping to welcome in January’s window.

The Toffees will be hoping that their 2-1 win over Arsenal can kick-start their season, especially with the first Merseyside derby of the season looming this Monday.

But the bookies make Koeman’s men 14/5 outsiders as Liverpool make the short trip across Stanley Park.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing