Aston Villa are reportedly keen on Anderlecht hitman Stefano Okaka.
Stefano Okaka
According to the Daily Mail, Aston Villa have spoken to Belgian side Anderlecht about the possibility of signing striker Stefano Okaka.
Villa have added one forward already this summer in Ross McCormack, but another striker to support Rudy Gestede should be on Roberto Di Matteo’s agenda – and he appears to have targeted a fellow Italian.
Stefano Okaka scores for Anderlecht against Tottenham
The Daily Mail claim that, whilst Villa have an interest in signing West Ham United forward Enner Valencia, they have also contacted Anderlecht about a possible deal for their striker Stefano Okaka.
Okaka, 27, came up through the ranks with Roma but failed to make the grade in the Eternal City, scoring just twice in 34 appearances – and he’s also turned out for Modena, Brescia, Fulham, Bari, Parma, Spezia and Sampdoria before joining Anderlecht last summer.
Tottenham’s Jan Vertonghen in action with Anderlecht’s Stefano Okaka
In a nomadic career, Okaka seems to have settled in Belgium having scored a total of 17 goals in all competitions for Anderlecht last season – but his exploits appear to have attracted interest.
Okaka is a big, physical striker with great strength, but also a decent turn of pace, and Di Matteo may well be very aware of what his fellow Italian can do, but whether he’s what Villa are looking for is another matter.
Stefano Okaka celebrates scoring for Anderlecht
Owner Tony Xia took to Twitter earlier this week to claim that Villa aren’t particularly looking for another target man figure given that they already have Gestede, and are instead looking for a player with pace to test defences in behind.
That isn’t really Okaka’s game, and nor is he an international striker that Xia suggested Villa will target. With just five days to go until the end of the transfer window, Villa may just be covering all bases and lining up a number of potential targets, with Okaka seemingly an option on their list – but Norwich City are also keen, meaning there could be a Championship battle for Okaka’s signature on the horizon.
Would you like to see Aston Villa sign Okaka?
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
