It had previously been reported that Everton were joined by Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur in eyeing a move for Polish international striker Arkadiusz Milik in January, with interest in the striker not only extending to English clubs.
Italian giants Juventus have also been alerted to the player’s availability after the 26-year-old was a notable exclusion from Napoli’s Serie A and Champions League squads.
The Polish-born striker has less than a year left on his contract and is eligible to sign a pre-contract agreement with any club from January. However, the latest update has handed a further boost to Everton in their pursuit of the player.
According to a new update from Calciomercato, Milik’s agents are now actively in negotiations with the Napoli hierarchy with regards to forcing an exit from the club.
As a result of Milik’s contract situation, a deal in January would be a shrewd and relatively cheap move by the Toffees’ board – but they will evidently face strong competition to bring the Polish striker to Merseyside.
It was previously believed that the player was willing to run down his Napoli contract and leave as a free agent, but it is now understood that Milik is growing frustrated in Naples and will opt for an earlier move in the winter transfer window.
Local source AreaNapoli had also previously claimed that Milik could now leave for as little as £6.5m.
The former Ajax talent has an impressive scoring record, with 48 goals in 122 appearances at the Stadio San Paolo. With a greater than one-in-three goals-per-game ratio, Milik is nothing short of a potent goal threat. Also, he has worked under Ancelotti previously; the striker joined Napoli in 2016, playing under the current Everton boss between 2018 and 2019.
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Despite possessing formidable attacking threats, Milik could further bolster an Everton squad which boasts Richarlison, James Rodriguez and Dominic Calvert-Lewin as attacking threats.
Richarlison has not been deployed as a striker by Ancelotti this season, leaving only Cenk Tosun as out-and-out centre-forward backup to Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The Turkish marksman only just returned from injury in the Toffees’ most recent game, the 2-1 loss to Newcastle.
This only accentuates the benefits that Milik could bring in a reunion with his former manager.
The striker evidently feels he is in good shape. Speaking to Sportowefakty.pl in October, Milik said: “Now, I’ll wait for the next transfer window and I hope the clubs can find an understanding. Physically I’m fine, I have trained well individually.
“I will play matches with the national side. In three months, my form won’t be affected too much.”
Milik could be one of the more notable pieces of winter business if the Toffees can land their man – and it would represent a real coup by the Goodison Park board.
