Étienne Capoue was keen on leaving Watford during the last window after the Hornets were relegated from the Premier League.
Javi Gracia was appointed as Valencia’s manager in the summer and the Spaniard was keen on reuniting with his former player at Mestalla.
However, the La Liga side failed in their approach to sign the 32-year-old and the midfielder ended up staying at Vicarage Road.
The Frenchman still remains a target for Los Ches, if a report from today’s edition of AS is to be believed.
Valencia are going through a economic crisis and will have to offload players to ease their financial issues. According to the newspaper, the only difference between ‘today and the summer’ is the sale of Geoffrey Kondogbia to Atlético Madrid in November.
The ‘slight margin’ created by Kondogbia’s sale has made Valencia owner Peter Lim grant resources requested by Gracia to strengthen the squad.
Therefore, the technical secretariat, under the orders of Valencia president Anil Murthy, ‘combs the market’ for the positions, centre-back and defensive midfield, they were already looking to strengthen in the summer.
Capoue gets a mention and AS adds the Spanish side still ‘keep an eye’ on the Watford player. The ‘screening has begun’ by updating the reports they have had on the Hornets man and other targets during the last window.
AS adds Lim will only authorise new additions if they were to arrive at ‘zero cost’ or if they are free agents.
This would indicate Valencia may struggle to sign Capoue next month if Watford don’t consider letting the player go out on a free loan deal.
