Watford hoping to sign ex-Roma midfielder Bove

Watford are hoping to persuade midfielder Edoardo Bove to join them following his release by Serie A club Roma.

The 23-year-old collapsed on the pitch two years ago during a loan spell with Fiorentina and was taken to intensive care.

He was later fitted with a cardiac defibrillator, external and has not played a senior game since then.

"We created a great relationship - this started six months ago, it didn't start during the transfer window right now," Watford assistant sporting director Valon Behrami told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"We became a serious option for him but with a player like this it always takes time. Now we have to wait and see what we can do. It could be a dream come true."

Bove made his Roma first-team debut in May 2021, five days before Jose Mourinho's appointment as head coach, and scored five goals in 92 appearances for the Giallorossi.

In January 2024, he was hit by a bottle thrown from the crowd during a derby game against Lazio and left for Fiorentina at the start of the following season.

Behrami believes Bove is a Premier-League standard player and last week stated it would be a "miracle" if they could bring him to Vicarage Road.

Asked if the player's medical history made any deal more complicated, he said: "We know the situation and have worked a long time on these kinds of details.

"There are many clubs that are on him now, we are one of them, and hopefully we can be the one he chooses."