Watford and Southampton keen on ex-Spurs winger in Serie A

Watford have only just confirmed their Premier League team status from next season but the Hornets are already being linked with a move for a former Tottenham starlet impressing in Serie A.

Paul-Jose M’Poku spent three years on the books at White Hart Lane, having been brought to the north London club from Standard Liege as a teenager.

Though he failed to register a single appearance in the Premier League during that time, the 23-year-old Congo-born winger impressed during a season-long stint at Leyton Orient.

M’Poku played 27 league games, scoring twice, during his stay with the O’s and was soon on his way back to Belgium with Standard re-signing that player at the end of that campaign for an undisclosed fee.

Earlier this year the midfielder was also linked with a move to Queens Park Rangers, where he would have linked back up with former Spurs manager Harry Redknapp.

But with the ex-Tottenham boss departing Rangers back in January, M’Poku instead moved to Qatari side Al-Arabi.

It was evidently a move he soon regretted with the Middle East side agreeing to allow the DR Congo international to return to Europe with Serie A strugglers Cagliari soon after.

M’Poku has made the best of a potentially bad situation, however, with a series of fine performances for the Italian outfit that have seen Watford and Southampton linked with bids for the attacker.

The Mirror are among those reporting that the two clubs could go head-to-head for the African star’s signature, with the midfielder available for as little as £3m.

And M’Poku did his chances of earning a Premier League move little harm this week after scoring for Cagliari in a comfortable 4-0 win over Parma that could yet help the club avoid relegation.

Quick, strong in the air and something of a dead-ball specialist, the 23-year-old’s eye for goal would make him a valuable addition to either the Hornets or the Saints, with the former holding something of an advantage due to the fact they are owned by the Pozzo family.

Watford’s owners also control La Liga side Granada and, most notably, Udinese in Serie A where they have brokered some major deals involving clubs in and around the Italian top-flight.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

Fancy a flutter? Sign up today to claim up to £25 in free bets.