Tianjin reach agreement with Fiorentina for Kalinic

When we first heard that Chinese club Tianjin Quanjian were offering €40 million for Nikola Kalinic, we chalked it up to typical transfer window absurdities and moved on. But the rumor persisted, and the Chinese club have now increased their offer to €45 million. It’s still under Kalinic’s €50 million buyout clause, but according to La Marca in Spain (!), Corvino and company have agreed to sell the 29-year-old striker for the truly staggering sum being offered.

The only hangup here is the player himself, who’s previously indicated that he has no interest in a move to China. Whether a salary increase of approximately 500% would change his mind remains to be seen, but it seems like he wants to stay in Europe, which will put him in place to remain the primary backup to Mario Mandzukic for Croatia.

Still, though, the fact that Fiorentina have agreed to sell him may be enough to put a rift in the relationship between club and player and push him out the door. Turning a €37.5 million profit on a player is a nice piece of business, and the presence of Khouma Babacar would take the sting out of losing a talented striker. But now it’s all up to Nikola.