Heitinga set for £1m Fiorentina move

Everton defender Johnny Heitinga is rumoured to be the subject of a bid of approximately £1m from Fiorentina. The Italian giants who are riding high in Seria A are looking for defensive reinforcements and have targeted the Dutch international as their number one target.

The fee of £1m would represent a significant loss on a player the club signed for £6.5 million, but with the former Ajax man in the final few months of his Everton contract he would be free to leave on a Bosman free transfer in the summer.

Johnny Heitinga will be best remembered for the 2011-12 season, when he was crowned Everton player of the season after a terrific personal campaign that ended in disappointment with defeat to Liverpool in the FA Cup semi final. Ever since that moment a dramatic dip In form has seen Heitinga struggle to maintain a regular place in the Everton line up with Jagielka and Distin the preferred partnership of both Roberto Martinez and his predecessor David Moyes.

The reports which have appeared in the Italian paper Corriere dello Sport claim that Fiorentina will offer the Dutch defender an escape route out of Goodison Park. It is a deal likely to suit all parties, with Heitinga behind John Stones in the pecking order and currently receiving upwards of £65,000 per week.