"Definitely need" - Watford FC backed to secure deal for Stoke City loanee | OneFootball

We spoke to our resident Watford pundit about the Hornets rumoured interest in Lewis Koumas.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Stoke City's Liverpool loanee Lewis Koumas is of interest to a trio of Championship clubs this January.

That is according to the Mail Online's Simon Jones, who has linked Watford with the youngster alongside Sheffield United and West Bromwich Albion.

It is thought that Liverpool are happy with his loan spell and that the Potters are confident of keeping hold of him.

The Hornets are currently sitting in ninth place and have been decent going forward, netting 35 in 25 games.

Koumas would be a good addition to this squad and could be the man to finish off all the chances Giorgi Chakvetadze has been creating for his teammates.

While Stoke will be eager to keep him at the Bet365 Stadium, the opportunity for Koumas to gain experience at a better side may appeal to Liverpool's hierarchy as they look to accelerate his development in professional football.

Watford urged to chase a deal for Koumas

With the above topic in mind, at Football League World we decided to speak to our resident Hornets pundit, Justin Beattie, to get his take on whether he would like to see Koumas grace Vicarage Road.

Beattie admitted that Watford need to address a number of issues in attack and believes Koumas could be a possible answer to this issue.

"Watford have got some problems up front this season," Beattie told FLW.

"Daniel Jebbison came in on loan for Bournemouth and has really not been the answer and has been a total misfire. Whether he stays with us for the remainder of his year-long loan or goes back to Bournemouth in January remains to be seen. But, he wouldn't be missed if he went back.

"To someone who doesn't watch Vakoun Bayo week-in, week-out, you would think he is a regular goalscorer. He is not!

"We definitely need to put some pressure on his position.

"But, whether we get him or someone else, Watford definitely need to strengthen up front this window."

Lewis Koumas builds on Tom Cleverley's potential striker options

As stated by Beattie, one of the priorities of this window has to be making a new addition in the attacking third.

While Bayo's nine goals in 24 games aren't poor by any stretch, his tally is skewed by scoring four in a 6-2 win against Sheffield Wednesday, with just two goals in his last nine appearances.

That will likely see them dip into the transfer market and, outside Koumas, they have been linked with Sevilla's Kelechi Iheanacho, as per ABC in Spain.

Either of these two would prove good additions, and it wouldn't be surprising to see more names arise in the coming weeks.

However, come February, the Watford transfer chiefs must ensure they sign Cleverley a new forward, as leaving him in the cold could see their play-off challenge slip away.