Opinion: The stance Watford should take on Reading star amid transfer links | OneFootball

Championship outfit Watford are considering an approach for Reading striker Lucas Joao, according to yesterday's report from the Reading Chronicle.

The Angola international will leave the Select Car Leasing Stadium on the expiration of his contract there this summer, with the Royals announcing earlier this month that he would be released.

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That will give other teams the opportunity to recruit him for nothing - and you can't imagine he would be short of interest considering his goalscoring record at this level.

Do Watford need to strengthen their forward department?

The Hornets are certainly in need of adding more depth and quality up front and that's not just because they only managed to score 56 goals in 46 league games during the 2022/23 campaign.

In terms of the attackers that did play a part during the campaign, Joao Pedro has already sealed a move to Brighton and Hove Albion, Keinan Davis has returned to Aston Villa, Henrique Araujo has travelled back to Benfica and Britt Assombalonga is reportedly set to be released.

As well as this, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Ismaila Sarr leave the club considering he only has one year remaining on his contract at Vicarage Road.

With this, they desperately need some goalscorers and ideally, they will bring in a couple of attackers who are already proven in the English second tier.

What stance should Watford take on Lucas Joao?

Considering Joao is only 29 at this point, the Hornets could probably afford to give him a three-year contract.

However, the forward did pick up quite a few injuries during his time with the Royals and that's why the Hornets desperately need to do some background checks before they decide whether to pursue a move for him or not.

It would be difficult to see Joao signing a one-year contract, even though he may not need to relocate if he made the switch to Vicarage Road, so a two-year deal would probably be a good compromise.

Valerien Ismael's side also need to ensure that they are getting value for money from the player - and the fact he's a free agent is a good start.

However, his salary will also need to be taken into account because wage bills can often play a big part in clubs breaking financial rules.

Even if he's offered a £20,000-per-week contract, he would be paid around £2m during his stay in Hertfordshire and you feel he would score more than enough goals to justify his contract.

But he isn't guaranteed to stay fit for the majority of his potential stay at Vicarage Road and this is why they should offer him around £10,000-per-week instead, especially if there are goal and appearance bonuses included in his contract.