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Watford make transfer move for versatile 24-year-old
Championship promotion hopefuls Watford are in talks with French club Stade Rennais over a loan move for 24-year-old midfielder James Lea Siliki, according to the Watford Observer.
A France under-21 international, Siliki has appeared just six times in the league for Rennes in the 2020/21 campaign and the club look to be receptive to the idea of him departing.
And Rennes has been a good place for the Hornets to do business in the past, with both Abdoulaye Doucoure and Ismaila Sarr joining the club in the past few years from the same team.
The Observer report that clubs in Belgium and Italy are also interested in Siliki, but re-uniting with Sarr at Vicarage Road may play a factor in Watford sealing the deal with this one and they want to bring him in for the rest of the season with an option to purchase.
Siliki was a regular fixture in the second half of last season for Rennes, a campaign in which he made 20 league appearances, but the likes of Steven Nzonzi and Eduardo Camavinga have made it hard for him to nail down a starting role recently.
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You wouldn’t think Watford need more depth in the middle of the park, with Tom Cleverley, Will Hughes, Nathaniel Chalobah, James Garner and Domingos Quina to choose from in Xisco’s preferred 4-4-2 formation, but Siliki may be wanted as a wide midfielder.
He has played on the left wing for Rennes sporadically and could challenge Ken Sema for a starting spot immediately.
The Verdict
Siliki has a good pedigree in France’s top tier, so from that alone he would seemingly be a good addition to Xisco’s squad.
It is seemingly getting top-heavy in midfielders though, although the left-side of the midfield four does need strengthening and if Siliki is coming in to battle Sema for that role, then it makes a lot more sense.
There will probably not be major additions this month for Watford as they already have a strong squad, so this would be an added bonus and a pretty exciting capture if it goes through.
