Valencia are set to ramp their interest in Watford’s Etienne Capoue after sealing Cristiano Piccini’s move to Atalanta.
That’s according to Super Deporte, who say the midfielder is the ‘number one target’ for the Spanish club this summer.
Valencia are undergoing a significant overhaul of their squad in this transfer window, with the club’s financial worries meaning they’ve had to ship out several players and drastically reduce costs.
That has already seen big names such as Rodrigo, Dani Parejo and Francis Coquelin leave and there are more to go.
Piccini is another of those to have moved on, signing a season-long loan deal with Italian side Atalanta that has brought a couple of million into the club’s coffers.
And Valencia believe the money secured from that deal will allow them to ‘accelerate’ their move for Watford’s Capoue, with Javi Gracia having requested his signature.
The former Watford boss has ‘requested’ the Frenchman, who he worked with at Vicarage Road, to ‘rebuild’ his midfield and has been working on bringing him to the club.
Negotiations between the clubs are ‘open pending an agreement’ that suits all parties, but Piccini’s departure has made the move ‘somewhat less difficult’.
