Crystal Palace join race for Watford sensation Rocco Vata | OneFootball

Crystal Palace have joined the race to sign Watford forward Rocco Vata, according to the Daily Mail.

Vata is considered one of the brightest talents in the Championship, and Palace have reportedly taken an interest in the Irish sensation.

Palace are keeping an eye on his development at Watford and could wait until next summer to make their move. However, any delay could be detrimental to their ambitions, with other clubs circling.

Over the years, the Eagles have made it a habit of shopping in the Championship for rare gems and making a sizeable profit from their sale years down the line.

Palace signed Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze from the Championship for a combined £25 million.

The Eagles eventually made an astonishing £86m profit on both players after selling to Bayern Munich and Arsenal, respectively, for a combined £111m.

Palace also signed Adam Warton from Blackburn Rovers, and the England international has gone on to establish himself as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League.

Wharton is now drawing interest from the top clubs in the league, and Palace are holding out for a fee of around £70m for a player who cost them an initial £18m.

Palace could be repeating that trick with Vata. The Irish sensation has only scored seven goals in his senior career, but his profile has caught the eye of Palace’s recruitment team.

Considering they hardly get such moves wrong, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Palace make a huge profit on Vata in the future.

However, they have to get to him first, which is the tricky part. Fulham are also rumoured to be interested in Vata, who is valued at £20m by Watford.

The 20-year-old has notched two goals and two assists in 10 Championship appearances. He has also created two big chances and has been consistent for the Hornets this season.

Vata came through Celtic’s academy before joining Watford on a long-term deal last year.

While he’s developing into the talent they believe he could be, Watford know they could struggle to keep him at Vicarage Road beyond next summer.