Watford Close to Agreeing 2-Year Loan Deal for Out of Favour Barcelona Forward Paco Alcacer

After already doing business with Barcelona this summer over Gerard Deulofeu, Watford are set to go back to the Spanish side with an offer for their out of favour forward Paco Alcacer on a two-year loan deal with an obligation to buy. 

According to SPORT, the Premier League side will look to take the 24-year-old, who has also attracted interest from Leicester, on an initial loan deal after which they will have to buy the Spaniard. 

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Alcacer arrived at the Nou Camp two years ago from Valencia in a €30m move, but has found chances hard to come by, having battled with the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Neymar and Ousmane Dembele for a starting berth. 

The Spanish striker has managed just 15 goals over the course of his two-year stint in Catalonia, and has now been deemed surplus to requirements by Ernesto Valverde. 

It is now reportedly up to the player himself to decide if he wants to move to England; if he agrees to the move, he will be released from the club's US tour to finalise a move to Javi Gracia's Hornets. 

Watford are reluctant to pay a significant figure upfront, so have instead opted to negotiate the initial loan move. 

Barcelona have been open to offers for Alcacer all summer but have found suitors hard to come by, with the forward's former employers Valencia touted as a potential home if they were to lose Rodrigo. 

The fees for the loan over two years would reportedly be deducted from the fee in 2020, with Barcelona expecting to make their money back. Watford remain interested in the player, but have other irons in the fire as there is just a week left of the English transfer window. 

Should Alcacer fail to make his mind up soon, the Hornets may look elsewhere.