Serie A striker wants to join Everton over Premier League rivals after bid tabled – report
By Tom Blackburn
AC Milan striker M’Baye Niang wants to join Everton ahead of West Ham, according to a report.
Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport claim the Merseysiders and the Hammers have both tabled a bid for the 21-year-old forward.
But Milan are holding out for a fee of £14.6millon fee for France Under-21 international Niang.
Both clubs are in the market for forwards, with West Ham looking to build on their seventh place finish in 2015-16 while Everton are set for a major overhaul this summer under the management of Ronald Koeman.
Niang, 21, who spent the second half of the 2014-15 season on loan at Genoa before returning to Milan last summer, scored five goals and supplied five assists in 16 Serie A matches this season, in which he missed large chunks through injury.
It is reported by Gazzetta that Niang has his heart set on a transfer to the Premier League and is particularly keen on a move to Goodison Park.
Everton are keen to add a striker to their squad even if Romelu Lukaka is persuaded to remain at Goodison Park.
West Ham are also in the market for a goalscorer, with not one of their players able to reach double figures in the league last season.
Niang can play centrally or out wide, and has scored a total of nine goals in 59 appearances for AC Milan.
In other Everton transfer news, the Merseysiders are braced for a bid that would smash their club record.