According to reports, Everton are now eyeing a move for Serie A forward Nikola Kalinic as Ronald Koeman sees a deal for Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck or Theo Walcott not materializing over the summer. Despite having Wayne Rooney, Everton are still short of a centre forward who could fill the huge void left by the Belgian, Lukaku.
Everton have had a historical transfer season this summer that saw some long-term solutions injected to the squad and perfectly explains the huge expenditure by the board. Everton aren’t expecting such an aggressive recruitment drive anytime in the next few years and Koeman has taken a huge gamble roping in some exciting yet unproven talents in the Premier League.
The Toffees have brought in Michael Keane, Jordan Pickford, Davy Klaassen, Sandro Ramirez, Cuco Martina and Wayne Rooney this summer. And although they should be ripping up opponents with the available squad, Koeman has found his side just crossing the line by slim margins. Of course, the players would need more time to know each other before they start clicking ideally, but with Lukaku gone and Ross Barkley out, Everton still need an assuring option up front.
And the Fiorentina striker, who is likely to cost £22.5 million, is seen as a good option by the Merseyside club. Although at 29, the Croatian international isn’t exactly what Koeman had in mind as his centre forward, he more than often gets the job done. Having a 31-year-old Rooney up front as his sole option isn’t devoid of risks anyway, and Kalinic could be an ideal partner for the England international.
He has been a regular face for the Fiorentina fans since moving from Ukrainian side Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk two years back. Not only has he been fit but also quite consistent in front of the goal. He has played 84 games for them so far, scoring 33 goals and notching up 11 assists in the process.
And a closer look at his career stats reveals that the player has been successful pretty much everywhere except in England in his previous stint with Blackburn Rovers. The academy product of Croatian side HNK Hajduk Split, Kalinic spent loan stints with NK Istra 1961 and HNK Sibenik before breaking to the first team of his boyhood club.
Two productive years with HNK Hajduk Split, where he scored 33 goals and provided 16 assists in 59 games, was soon followed by a move to Blackburn. But he was a big flop there scoring just 13 goals and assisting five times in 53 games. However, he moved to Ukrainian side Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk next and took things under control, scoring 49 goals over five seasons.
At 187cm, he is quite tall and can also provide assists for the approaching Klaassen, Tom Davies or Ross Barkley outside the box. Everton would definitely get a consistent performer in him.
