Watford’s hunt for Gregoire Defrel has received a boost today, with Sports Witness (via Corriere Dello Sport) reporting that his parent club, Sassuolo, are desperate to sell in this window.
The 32-year-old has spent his entire career in Italy and is out of contract at the end of the season. His name keeps getting column inches in Italy as he is linked with moves, and most suitors seem to be from his homeland. As we reported earlier in the week, the £4m-rated striker is on the Hornet’s hitlist this winter.
However, Cagliari and Salernitana are credited with interest in the forward, who has yet to score a goal for his side this season. They’re eager to get some cash in for him, and as he’s in the last six months of his current deal, that means a sale at some point in the next three weeks according to today’s reports.
Defrel has been on Watford’s radar for some time, with a £23 million offer rejected in 2018. At the time, the striker was playing for Roma, and the Hornets proposed a £3 million loan fee and a further £20 million option to buy. That was rejected, but the Hornets have kept an eye on the striker ever since.
The French striker came through the ranks at Parma, but only appeared once for them in the league, eventually moving to Cesena, and then Sassuolo. It was in his first stint there he caught the eye, with 23 goals in 73 outings. In 2017, he joined Roma on loan for a €5 million loan fee, with an obligation to make the transfer permanent for an additional €15 million.
It was at that point he was a target for Watford, but that interest wasn’t successful, and he later moved to Sampdoria on loan, before heading back to Sassuolo in 2019. Since that move, he’s hit just seven goals in 106 outings.
Writer’s View
Watford fans won’t be getting excited about this. They’ll surely be hoping this is just press noise, based on their previous interest, and not a solid transfer rumour.
Why? He’s 32, he hasn’t scored this season, and he’s only hit double figures twice in his career. The whole move feels wrong, which knowing Watford, means it’s a dead cert.
Defrel doesn’t feel like the sort of player a Championship side should be paying a transfer fee for. At 32, with his record, it’s a huge risk for very little expected reward.
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