Watford edging closer to securing transfer deal for Serie B forward | OneFootball

With Watford cashing in on striker Rhys Healey, they now look set to be active in the January transfer window.

The Hornets have yet to make any new additions to their squad in the mid-season market, although Udinese's young left-footed defender Antonio Tikvic has been linked with a move to Vicarage Road - the top end of the pitch is likely to be on the agenda now too.

Healey played 11 times in the Championship for the Hertfordshire outfit since his summer move from Toulouse of France and scored twice, but just one of those was from the start, so Valerien Ismael was happy to oblige when divisional rivals Huddersfield Town came in with a swoop for the 29-year-old.

It means that Ismael is now likely to add to his attacking options this month, and it once again appears that the club are looking overseas for potential additions.

Watford's interest in Nigerian forward David Okereke, currently playing for Italian Serie B outfit Cremonese, has been reported this week, and according to Il Giorno, the Hornets are moving closer to landing the 26-year-old's signature.

There is competition however from Turkish side Besiktas - coincidentally the former club of Ismael and the last he managed before moving to Watford - for Okereke's services, and whilst they haven't given up hope of landing the forward, the report states that he looks closer to moving to Vicarage Road.

Okereke's breakout season came in 2018-19 for Spezia in Serie B, scoring 10 goals that year, and after a stint in Belgium with Club Brugge he returned to Italy with Venezia on loan in 2021, playing in the top flight Serie A for the very first time, scoring seven league goals that season.

A switch to Cremonese on a permanent basis followed in 2022, but his seven goals in his debut season were not enough to keep his club in the top flight of Italian football.

Appearing 16 times in Serie A this season, Okereke has started just five times, and it looks as though he will be on the move before the January 31 deadline.

What Valerien Ismael has said on Watford's transfer business

Speaking earlier on in January, Watford head coach Ismael insisted that there would be minimal transfer business going on despite their play-off ambitions, but Healey's exit will likely spark action now with the possible arrival of Okereke.

“We are working behind the scenes, but there is nothing close to either coming in or going out,” Ismael said, per Yahoo Sports.

“What I can tell you is we won’t change a lot because I think we have created a group now where everyone is involved, and everyone has a great feeling being part of the process.

“You cannot make big changes with five or six players in January just for the sake of change, because you risk destroying all the work we have put in so far. “We trust the players we have, but also we know that perhaps we can do something different and get close to the picture we want to have.

“That will depend on a lot of different things.”