3 Championship clubs who could be bolstered by the signing of Watford’s Andre Gray amidst EFL interest | OneFootball

Andre Gray has returned to Watford training after reporting for international duty with Jamaica during their Gold Cup run.

The 30-year-old, who is entering the final 12 months of his contract with the newly-promoted Premier League club, has been training with the U23s at Watford, in order to get himself back to match fitness, according to Adam Leventhal of The Athletic via Twitter.

Leventhal tweet also states that it is unclear when or whether he will return to first-team training, before confirming that there is EFL interest in the striker.

Gray scored a mere five goals in 30 appearances last season, although, the majority of those appearances came from the bench.

Here, we take a look at 3 Championship clubs who would benefit from signing Andre Gray…

Nottingham Forest

Delving into Nottingham Forest’s attacking options, they are certainly fearsome on paper. Lewis Grabban has been brilliant at Championship level for so many years, whilst Lyle Taylor is another player with excellent pedigree.

However, they scored just 37 goals last season – a year where they struggled to both create and finish chances.

The continued progression of Alex Mighten and Brennan Johnson makes for an exciting season next year, and if a willing runner like Gray is acquired, then he would benefit from their creativity and vision.

Taylor and Grabban are certainly still good strikers at this level, but the addition of Gray adds an extra dimension. He is a player who will instantly be looking to break the defensive line and has proved to be an excellent scorer of goals over the years.

Blackburn Rovers

Andre Gray has been rumoured to be part of a swap deal that would see the prolific Adam Armstrong head the other way.

Armstrong scored 29 goals last season – a total that would usually be enough to win the golden boot, but Ivan Toney’s record-breaking 31 beat the Newcastle-born man to it.

Armstrong’s success over the last couple of years has derived from his clever attacking movement and lightning-quick pace – something that Gray specialises in.

The fact that Gray operates similarly to the former Newcastle man makes him a worthy option if he does depart, albeit, Blackburn fans will not want to see Armstrong go regardless of who is brought in.

Stoke City

Stoke City have quite openly been looking for a striker this season – someone who brings something different to what Steven Fletcher offers.

The Potters have been linked with Manchester City starlet Liam Delap and more recently, Bournemouth’s Sam Surridge.

Whilst those additions would be exciting, Gray would also be an excellent temporary fix. Gray operates completely different from how Fletcher plays and the pair could potentially strike up a very good partnership.

This hypothetical scenario would rely on Stoke not striking deals for both Surridge and Delap.

Quiz: What was the score the last time Nottingham Forest played at each of these 24 stadiums?

1 of 24

Anfield?

5-1 W

5-1 L

3-1 W

3-1L