Struggling to find any game time at Watford under Javi Gracia, totalling just 47 minutes of football during the first half of the season, Stefano Okaka was shipped off by the Pozzo family to their other club, Udinese.
Born in Italy, the striker played most of his career in Serie A (and B) before his move to Vicarage Road, so settling in wasn’t exactly a problem, and it showed on the pitch.
Featuring 16 times for under Davide Nicola and then Igor Tudor from January onwards, the 29-year-old scored six goals and picked up two assists, quickly winning over fans.
However, despite this good form and his lack of chances at Watford, a permanent stay in Udine seems a complicated deal to pull off, according to a couple of Italian journalists who were speaking to TuttoMercatoWeb about the club’s winners and losers over the course of the 2018-19.
Both impressed by the forward, Stefan Giovampietro (Sky Sport) and Stefano Martorano (Messaggero Veneto) explained it would be ‘difficult’ for Okaka to remain at the club beyond the current campaign even if it’s what the fans want after his performances.
We’ll be keeping an eye on this one as it’s been relatively quiet compared to most other loan deals, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Pozzo family sprinkle some of their magic dust to get something done if Tudor desperately wants to keep the Italy international around and no better offers end up on their desk.
