If Gazzetta dello Sport on Wednesday are to be believed, then Javi Gracia’s first move on the transfer market as Watford’s latest manager was an attempt to solve their striker situation.
Despite having a handful on the books, Marco Silva struggled to get the likes of Andre Gray and Troy Deeney firing on all cylinders, and there was a lot of speculation surrounding the potential arrival of Islam Slimani in January.
That still hasn’t happened, and the Pozzo family appear to be preferring the scouting being done in Italy, as Gazzetta claim Watford made an offer totalling €23m for AS Roma’s Grégoire Defrel.
The €3m loan with a view to buy at €20m in the summer was swiftly rejected by the Serie A side, who now have to hold on to all their goalscoring assets if Edin Dzeko is to move to Chelsea, and there’s a better chance of a deal being done in June.
Gazzetta expect Watford to return in the summer for the French striker, whose form hasn’t exactly been stellar since his move from Sassuolo, yet to find the back of the net in 426 minutes spread over 10 appearances.
