Watford have made an offer for an “amazing” young player who was once named in a dream team alongside the likes of Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Rodrygo, according to a new report.
Watford news and updates
Watford suffered their fourth defeat on the bounce at the weekend as they were thumped 4-1 by Premier League side Fulham in the third round of the FA Cup. Rodrigo Muniz put Fulham ahead on the day with a fine low strike in the 26th minute, before Rocco Vata leveled for the Hornets shortly after, driving the ball into the top corner from no less than 30 yards out.
Second half goals from Raul Jimenez, Joachim Andersen and Timothy Castagne, however, sealed an emphatic win for the home side, who will face either Mansfield Town or Wigan Athletic in the fourth round.
Speaking after the defeat to the Cottagers, Watford head coach Tom Cleverley said that while disappointed to lose, it was a good experience for his side.
“It was good for a few of our players to see the levels in English football, and how strong the Premier League is,” he said.
Cleverley also touched upon his side’s plans in the January transfer market, saying: “We’re hoping to improve the squad. To maintain and sustain what we’re doing, if we win our game in hand we’re around the top six. We have to strengthen because those around us will. We’re working hard to do so.”
Watford submit offer for Destanoglu
One area Cleverley is reportedly looking to strengthen this month is in goal, after Daniel Bachmann picked up a significant injury. Watford have conceded a whopping 36 goals in 25 Championship games this season, and haven’t kept a clean sheet in any game since the end of November.
To fix the problem, according to Hurriyet (via Sports Witness), the Hornets have now submitted an official bid for Besiktas goalkeeper Ersin Destanoglu. The Turkish publication claims that Watford want to take the Turkey U-21 international on loan for the rest of the season with an compulsory agreement to purchase him at the end of the campaign for a fee of £1.3 million.
Watford’s offer has yet to be accepted, but it is reported that the two clubs will continue to hold talks and hope to come to an agreement over in the coming days
Destanoglu, 24, has already made over 100 appearances for Besiktas, but currently finds himself out of favour at the Besiktas Stadium, with manager Serdar Topraktepe preferring the veteran Mert Gunok between the posts.
Jacek Kulig, owner of scouting website Football Talent Scout, once described Destanoglu as “amazing”. The Turkish goalkeeper was also named in the IFFHS (International Federation of Football History & Statistics) World Youth Team of the Year back in 2020, which included Manchester City duo Erling Haaland and Phil Foden, Real Madrid pair Rodrygo and Eduardo Camavinga, Bayern Munich full-back Alphonso Davies, and Chelsea’s Wesley Fofana.