Aston Villa, West Ham watching Fiorentina sensation Kalinic

Fiorentina striker Nikola Kalinic is attracting Premier League interest.

The Express & Star says Aston Villa and West Ham offered Kalinic the chance to return to England in the summer.

Hammers boss Slaven Bilic knows him from the international side, with Kalinic scoring 13 times in 53 games at Blackburn from 2009 and 2011.

The 27-year-old has instead joined Italian outfit Fiorentina and hit the ground running, with five goals in his opening seven games for the club.

Both Villa and West Ham are monitoring his progress, but the forward would cost more than the £3.85million Ukrainian side Dnipro received.