According to reports, Everton are facing stiff competition from Premier League side West Bromwich Albion and Serie A side Udinese in their attempt to secure the service of Watford striker Stefano Okaka. The Italian forward hasn’t had a good debut season with the Hornets under Walter Mazzarri and isn’t in the plans under Marco Silva’s reign either.
Everton definitely poses a stronger lure among all the available suitors at his disposal with a better squad and Europa League status, and most of all Okaka will remain as the only other natural centre forward at Goodison Park apart from Wayne Rooney and Sandro Ramirez.
Koeman has been desperate to add one more quality signing in that role after the sale of Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United. While Rooney has been quite impactful in the swap deal for the Dutch gaffer, as he has already scored twice in three games, he is pretty much the only option Koeman has in that role.
Everton have found themselves struggling without him up front and the manager had to resort to using Kevin Mirallas and Dominic Calvert-Lewin. While Sandro Ramirez remains an inconsistent prospect so far, Okaka could be a good fit with his strong physique and superior technique.
Despite having a decent start to the season for the club, Okaka hasn’t been used one minute for Watford in the last three games. The Hornets have made a positive start so far and are better off without Okaka in their line-up.
Head coach Marco Silva has sounded about his future at the club too and has asked him to have patience. When asked about Okaka’s position in his plans, the manager said, “He does what he needs to do and it’s not easy, I agree, but it’s a matter of decisions. I take what the best solution is for the team each match every time.”
An academy product of Cittadella Primavera, Serie A giants AS Roma picked him up as a youngster in 2004. He took just three years to break into the senior team before he was sent to a series of loans with clubs like Modena FC 1912, Brescia Calcio, Fulham FC, FC Bari 1908 and Parma Calcio 1913, before moving to Parma on a free transfer in 2012.
Two more stints with Spezia Calcio and Sampdoria and RSC Anderlecht picked him up in 2015 after repeated failures in Italy. He had a productive season in Belgium, where he scored 17 goals in 49 games in all competitions. Having him would surely be a gamble that Koeman should be willing to take.
