A look at the strikers being linked with a move to Watford

It was those enticing headlines on Teletext about ‘Star spotted at the stadium’ and ‘Hornets pursue midfielder’ that drew me in, and were costing me 60p a minute in those days I think.

Now, you may think that was mad enough. But then factor in that I was working on the same desk as Watford Observer sports editor Oli Phillips – the man who knew just about every move the club were making – and you can see I really was rather naïve.

Trouble is, we all like a rumours don’t we? Especially at this time of year when the transfer window is open, everybody else seems to be signing up half a squad and Watford have been, well, quiet in the market.

When I sat with Rob Edwards last week he was very relaxed about it all. Patience and getting the right players he needs, and which will fit into the style he wants to play, were of more importance to him than what was happening anywhere else.

I was actually more assured to hear him stress, on several occasions, that any transfers in or out of the club had to be countenanced by him. I’m sure I wasn’t the only fan who wondered just how much say previous head coaches had in that area. I still don’t know about the situation in the past, but Edwards was politely firm in confirming his involvement.

At this point, to avoid upsetting any current rumour lovers (at least getting this far hasn’t cost you 60p!), I have to make it clear that I’m not going to add to any conjecture that I haven’t seen elsewhere. Nor am I going to claim I have seen 'the’ list of players – though I do know there is such a thing – that the head coach, sporting director and others are currently working on.

However, Edwards was very clear in his discussion last week that attacking options were his priority. You didn’t need to be a journalist or a coach to probably also come to that conclusion. Josh King has gone, Emmanuel Dennis seems to be going and it’s not like Watford were the most goal-laden squad even when they were still both in contention.

Rob Edwards in conversation with Andrew French

But what Edwards did expand upon a little last week was what he was looking for in those striker options. He spoke of wanting to play attacking football, to score goals, of getting the ball into the box, of the need to be able to play the ball into someone who could hold it up.

On that latter point, he even did a bit of movement to show what he meant – slapping his chest as he said “we need players that the ball can be played into here” before miming shielding the ball from an imaginary player behind him.

Vakoun Bayo during his time at Celtic

He spoke warmly of Vakoun Bayo, who looks like being the first new signing of the summer. He also knew plenty about the 25-year-old from the Ivory Coast, another aspect of previous transfer windows that has undoubtedly worried fans like myself: the fear that previous head coaches had arrived at the training ground in January or August to find an extra player at training that they knew nothing about.

Edwards also said he liked Benik Afobe, who he had worked with at Wolves. When we were discussing him, the likelihood of the Stoke striker moving to Watford already seemed unlikely as he was poised to move to Club Brugges, where Champions League football and the associated rewards were probably very appealing.

Since then, that move has collapsed and Afobe has gone to Millwall on a year’s loan.

Also over the weekend, Reading striker Lucas Joao was linked again with Watford. At 6ft 4ins and with a record of around one goal every two games for the Royals, he has the physical and finishing attributes. He’s also entering the final year of his contract with the Royals which often forces the selling club’s hand.

Another name doing the round in the tabloids has been Southampton’s Adam Armstrong. He only moved to St Mary’s a year ago but struggled for Premier League starts (17 in 38 games) and finished the campaign with just two goals to his name. At 5ft 8ins, he’s certainly not the target man but a loan move and the right player alongside him might rekindle the goalscoring form that convinced Southampton to pay Blackburn Rovers £15million for him.

One name that did look exciting and seemed to fit the bill was Swansea’s Joel Piroe. At 22 he’s the sort of young player that both Edwards and Scott Duxbury have talked about wanting to have at Vicarage Road. He’s a big lad who scored 24 in 48 games for the Swans last season – what a great signing at just £1m from PSV. Hopefully, even if Piroe is not someone that ends up joining – and with a reported £15m price tag that may well be the case – then someone supporting Edwards with recruitment will have been looking into how the Welsh club unearthed such a gem.

Cameron Archer playing for England Under-21s

Watford have also been linked to a couple of Aston Villa strikers who plied their trade on loan in the Championship last season – Keinan Davis and Cameron Archer. Davis was the attacking pivot for Nottingham Forest as they went up via the play-offs while Archer was a more prolific scorer with seven goals in 20 outings at Preston North End.

Everything I’ve heard has suggested the latter is the more likely of the two – but in the same breath I keep being told nothing is imminent.

A new addition to the strikers it has been suggested Watford are looking at is 19-year-old Manchester City forward Morgan Rogers. At 19 and 6ft 2ins he is both young and has physical presence, though it appears he’s usually played wide and, with 3-5-2 seemingly the likely formation, he doesn’t look like a wing back. Bournemouth took him on loan during the second half of last season: he only started one game with 14 other substitutes appearances. His solitary goal came against Luton – which is always a good start.

Rogers stood out to me because Man City signed him from West Bromwich Albion as a 17-year-old, after he impressed against them in an FA Youth Cup tie. City do know how to spot young talent. Archer has been capped and scored for England from Under-15 through to Under-20 level and is another player that is likely to need a loan away from the Premier League to get first-team football.

Have I helped myself narrow it down? Probably not. Have I done anything to give readers a steer? Probably not. Will people be critical of what I’ve said? Yes, that’s more likely!

Thing is, everything is rumour until it becomes fact and with only one signing to talk about I wanted to write something about strikers as it is clearly so important that we bring options in and that they are what Edwards needs.

I’m hoping to catch up with the head coach later in the week. I’ll have my list to go with ‘that’ list.