The emergence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin has eased the pressure on Everton to bring a new centre-forward into the club but that has not prevented speculation from emerging in recent months.

Calvert-Lewin has been a revelation at the spearhead of the Toffees' attack this season. His form since Carlo Ancelotti arrived has been particularly impressive, with the budding England international scoring eight goals in 11 Premier League appearances under the Italian's tutelage.

But according to an exclusive report from ArenaNapoli, Everton are willing to offer €30m-€35m (£26.3m - £30.7m) to bring Arkadiusz Milik to Goodison Park, though Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentis is holding out for a fee in the region of €45-€50m (£39.5m - £43.9m).

AC Milan, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla are also credited with interest.

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The report goes on to claim that Milik would be offered a contract of €4m per year, which equates to €77,000-per-week (roughly £68,000).

While the transfer fee Everton are willing to offer for Milik suggests he would be an indispensable member of the first team squad, the reported wage offer tells a different story.

Farhad Moshiri's ambition to catapult Everton into Europe's elite has led to a series of hasty transfer decisions in recent years, and that in turn has sent the wage bill skyrocketing.

The reported offer for Milik, however, perhaps suggested Marcel Brands is acutely aware of the need to restructure things from a financial perspective.

That the powerful centre-forward, who has scored 12 goals in 22 games in all competitions this season, would not even be in the club's top 10 earners suggests changes could be on the horizon.

On a salary equivalent to £68k-per-week, Milik would be earning less than 11 first team players, including the likes of Theo Walcott, Seamus Coleman and Gylfi Sigurdsson, according to Spotrac.

If the 49-cap Poland international was willing to accept those terms it could well be a deal that sets a new precedent for the club.

After all, deals for Walcott, Sigurdsson and Schneiderlin, who are all earning £100k-per-week, have been draining the club of valuable resources. Delph's £80k-per-week terms are also worth of scrutiny given his injury record, though the fact he arrived from a club of Manchester City's stature naturally gave him an advantage on the negotiating table.

Either way, it is intriguing that a player commanding an asking price around the £40m mark would not be one of Everton's top earners.

The recent strategy of offering bumper deals to high-profile acquisitions simply doesn't appear to be working, but a policy shift could well be in the offing.