Thursday, 15th May, 2014
Serious interest in Watford defender Gabriele Angella from clubs such as West Ham, West Brom, Arsenal, Sunderland and Southampton has come as no surprise to the player's agent, who feels his client has taken English football by the scuff of the neck.
The 25-year-old landed at Watford last summer, switching from Udinese where he had not broken through under coach Francesco Guidolin, being loaned out to Siena and then Reggina.
Angella wasted no time in cementing a spot in the Watford side and impressing in the Championship, clocking up admirers.
Now almost half of the Premier League have been linked with moving to sign the Italian – and his agent is not at all surprised.
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"He is a serious guy, he went with great enthusiasm [to England], leaving Serie A. It was not easy, but he immediately imposed himself and proved himself suitable for English football, doing well", Marco Piccioli told Tutto Mercato.
"He has rated highly and has the major teams' eyes on him."
However, when those sides chasing Angella were put to Piccioli, the agent was keen not to speak of a switch too soon.
"Wait, it's one thing to take this into account, another to take the plunge. Let's see what materialises, we must speak to [Giampaolo] Pozzo [Udinese and Watford owner].
"Let's see. Guidolin praised him and said he would never have given him away, so you have to consider every possibility.
"The first step is to meet with Pozzo and then, considering the needs of everyone, we will evaluate together."
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