If you’ve been following all the players Watford have been linked with since the summer, you’ll be fully aware Marco Silva doesn’t appear all that thrilled with the attacking options at his disposal.
Troy Deeney isn’t finding the back of the net all that often, while Andre Gray is hardly justifying the £18m the Hornets spent on him in the summer.
As for Stefano Okaka, it’d be nice if someone told us what exactly happened to him after that goal against Liverpool on opening day, because even he isn’t sure why.
The name of Islam Slimani has appeared time and time again in the French and Algerian press, and the link makes sense, as Silva managed the Leicester City man at Sporting CP.
However, there might be a cheaper option available in January, if the Foxes prove to be tough negotiators once again, and that’s Karl Toko-Ekbambi.
The Angers forward was linked with Watford back in July, with the Hornets said to be tracking him.
Scoring seven goals the whole of last season, the 25-year-old already has six to his name (and three assists) this season, helped by him being moved more centrally by his manager Stéphane Moulin, even if he still plays the odd game on the wing.
Brighton saw a bid of around €10m rejected in the summer, and while the player has been given the ‘green light’ to leave next summer, it wouldn’t be a surprise if that move came earlier.
Angers are known to let some of their starters go midway through the season, with starting goalkeeper Ludovic Butelle leaving for £900k in 2015-16, while Abdoul Camara did the same, moving to Derby for just over £1.3m.
While the Ligue 1 side’s status has changed a little bit since then, there’s every chance they could be prepared to do the same if, let’s say, £10m from Watford landed on their table for Toko-Ekambi, even if he has scored a third of all their goals in the league so far.
Cashing in when his stock is at its highest would be a smart move.
