For a brief period, Mattia Perin was reportedly close to a move to the Premier League.
Aston Villa, in need of a goalkeeper, looked at the Juventus man, who saw Gianluigi Buffon return from Paris Saint-Germain to take his number two spot behind Wojciech Szczesny, and a sale was considered.
Dean Smith’s side went for Tom Heaton instead, but we now have a second team keen on the 26-year-old: Watford.
It’s no secret Quique Sánchez Flores’ new team were looking at strengthening that position somehow over the summer, with multiple claims Robin Olsen, then at Roma, was a target.
With two veterans at the club in Ben Foster and Heurelho Gomes, a changing of the guard is needed sooner rather than later, and while Pontus Dahlberg could be seen as the future in the role, there might need to be a middleman before he’s given the reins for good.
Over at JuveLive in Italy, it’s believed the relationship between Juventus and Perin is coming to an end, which was apparent when they were willing to offload him in the summer, and Watford ‘seems to be ready to seriously try and bring the player to England’.
They then go on to state negotiations will start in the next few weeks before seeing an ‘offer presented’.
One to keep an eye on.
