Everton Are Eyeing A Move For This Serie A Centre-Forward: What Will He Bring To Merseyside? | OneFootball

In a recent report, La Citta de Salerno mentioned that Everton are eyeing a move for Salernitana centre-forward Boulaye Dia this summer. It has been revealed that the Toffees are planning to use Neal Maupay as a makeweight to bring the Senegalese striker in this off-season.

Dia’s Impressive Run Of Form At Salernitana Last Season

The 26-year-old had a decent campaign in Serie A as he managed to produce a run of productive displays in the final third. Dia found the back of the net 16 times and earned six assists in 33 appearances for the Italian club last season in all competitions.

The France-born talent gave a good account of himself in the final third based on his average of 1.5 shots, 1.1 key passes and 1.1 dribbles per 90 minutes in Serie A. He was even careful when distributing the ball in the opponent’s half, as evidenced by his pass success rate of 77.3% in the top tier of Italian football (stats via whoscored).

His current contract at the Italian side will expire in the summer of 2026. Thus, it won’t be easy for Everton to arrange a cut-price move for him in this ongoing transfer window.

SALERNO, ITALY – MAY 03: Boulaye Dia of Us Salernitana during the Serie A match between Salernitana and ACF Fiorentina at Stadio Arechi on May 03, 2023 in Salerno, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

What Will Dia Bring To Everton?

Dia excels at finding space for himself to get a few shots in on-target. He has got the vision to engineer a few promising chances for his teammates in the final third.

The Senegalese talent is a decent dribbler with the ball as well. He is primarily a central striker but can also function as a right-winger if asked to do so. However, the Salernitana forward has still got a lot of room for improvement in his game.

We can expect Dia to bring more goals to Everton head coach Sean Dyche‘s frontline. He is good enough to rival Dominic Calvert-Lewin for a regular starting spot at the Merseyside club next season.

At 26, Dia has his prime years ahead of him which makes him an ideal choice for the Toffees to pursue during this summer transfer period. However, there are some serious concerns over whether he would be able to cope with the physical nature and high intensity of Premier League football if Everton manage to lure him to Goodison Park this summer.