Are Nigel Pearson’s Watford going to sign Burnley’s Ben Gibson? The Hornets also reportedly want Napoli’s Faouzi Ghoulam and Olympiakos’s Kostas Tsimikas.
Watford are looking to reinforce their defence with a host of signings during the January transfer window with left-backs Kostas Tsimikas and Faouzi Ghoulam on their radar, as well as £15 million Burnley bench-warmer Ben Gibson.
Stats are often overused but, when looking at the remarkable impact Nigel Pearson has made since taking over at Vicarage Road, the numbers cannot be ignored.
Watford were bottom of the Premier League with just nine points when the former Leicester City boss returned to English football. Now, some two months on, they have 23 on the board with Saturday’s 0-0 draw against Tottenham lifting the Hornets out of the relegation zone.
And, with a couple of astute January signings, a team which has been completely reborn could pull further clear of the bottom three in the blinking of an eye.
With the long-serving Greek international Jose Holebas now 35, Watford are looking to replace the left-back with a younger model. And, according to ArenaNapoli, experienced Napoli ace Ghoulam and the jet-heeled Olympiakos flyer Tsimikas are on their radar.
Both Ghoulam and Tsimikas are valued at around £17 million, the report adds. Interestingly, however, Watford only value the former at £9 million – a fee they will have to double to tempt Napoli into a sale.
The Hertfordshire outfit are eyeing additions in the centre too, with Burnley’s £15m forgotten man Gibson a target, according to the Northern Echo.
The former Middlesbrough captain has played just 63 minutes of Premier League football in 18 months at Turf Moor, and a player who was close to an England call-up in 2017 would surely relish a chance to rebuild his reputation at Vicarage Road.
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