Fiorentina's sporting director Pantaleo Corvino has dismissed speculation that Nikola Kalinic is on the verge of joining Chinese club Tianjin Quanjian by stressing he will not leave unless his release clause is activated.
Tianjin are reported to have increased their bid for the Croatian forward to €37 million, with Corvino's arrival at Lega Serie A offices in Milan on Tuesday fuelling speculation he was there to complete the transfer.
Earlier, Tianjin's owner Shu Yuhui confirmed to Tianjin Sports Channel that Kalinic was their No. 1 transfer target, now that moves for Karim Benzema, Radamel Falcao, Edinson Cavani and Diego Costa had broken down.
"[Coach Fabio] Cannavaro has asked for Kalinic," he said. "He would be perfect for our team's style of play, but we can't wait until June."
But unless they pay the €50m defined in Kalinic's contract as the figure which would enable him to leave the Viola, they will have to keep waiting, according to Corvino, who insists that they have not yet had any contact from the Chinese club.
"We've not had any offer from China, but everybody knows that he has a release clause and the conditions of it are quite clear," he told Mediaset. "I don't know what the lad wants to do, though."
Kalinic, 29, has scored nine goals in 20 Serie A appearances this season, plus a further four in the Europa League. He has scored 26 times since joining from Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 18 months ago.