Everton have been offered fresh hope of landing Manolo Gabbiadini after talks over the striker’s move to Southampton reportedly hit a stumbling block.
Gabbiadini emerged as a target for the Blues last summer but Farhad Moshiri later revealed that Napoli’s sale of Gonzalo Higuain scuppered their plans.
However the Italy international has struggled to feature for the Serie A side this season and is keen to secure an exit before the January 31 transfer deadline.
Southampton have offered Gabbiadini the chance to kick-start his career but their latest offer has been rejected by Napoli, who are holding out for a higher price.
Sky Sport Italia claim the South Coast club saw a second bid of €16 million rebuffed despite add-ons potentially seeing the overall deal rise to €20m.
Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis, however, is holding out for that figure up front in addition to sell-on fees should the 25-year-old’s career later take flight.
Reports elsewhere in Italy claim that Southampton had hoped to structure the deal as an initial six-month loan with an option to buy for €15m in the summer.
It could allow Ronald Koeman to steal a march on his former club as Everton remain keen to source cover for first-choice striker Romelu Lukaku.