The agent of Alexander Merkel has said the German midfielder could join Watford in January and confirmed the Championship club held talks with the player in the summer.

Merkel signed for fellow Pozzo-owed club Udinese in January but only made six outings last season and has yet to feature during the current campaign – he has been an unused substitute on three occasions.

Merkel’s agent Oscar Damiani told tuttomercatoweb.com: "There is a possibility [he could join Watford] and there has also been in the past, since the club have the same owners as Udinese.

“He had talked [with Watford] in the summer but then the player preferred to remain in Udine to play his cards."

When asked if the player wouldn’t be staying in Italy, Damiani replied: “No there is also the possibility that he will remain in Italy. At this time he only needs to regain confidence, and then in January we will evaluate all the hypotheses."

Atlanta and Parma are among the clubs reportedly interested in Merkel.

The 21-year-old joined AC Milan from Stuttgart as a teenager and made his debut at the age of 18, featuring ten times during the 2010/11 season.

Genoa bought 50 per cent of the player in 2011 and he made 16 appearances for the Serie A club before he rejoined Milan on loan.

However, he only made one outing before he had a spell on the sidelines with a knee injury.

Merkel played for Genoa six times in the first half of last season before he signed for Udinese in January.

- Watford’s technical director Gian Luca Nani has also confirmed the club were previously interested in Argentina Under-20 international Juan Iturbe.

Iturbe is a 20 year old forward who has scored two goals in four appearances this season following a loan move from Porto.

Nani told tuttomercatoweb.com:"Did I want to bring Iturbe to Watford? Yes true.

“I remember a game where in 20 minutes he showed all his qualities. I met his agent at the game and discussed the possibility of taking him."

“Why did not we get him? There were problems with the contract," Nani added.