Monday 21 December 2015 22:36, UK
Roma striker Juan Iturbe is in London to finalise a loan move to Watford, according to Sky sources, but manager Quique Sanchez Flores insists the club will resist any January offers for Odion Ighalo.
The deal for Iturbe will be completed during the transfer window and includes an option to make the deal permanent in the summer.
Meanwhile, Flores hailed Ighalo for staying with the club in the summer amid a reported £10m bid from Hebei China Fortune after bagging 12 goals in 17 Premier League appearances this season.
The 26-year-old scored twice on Sunday as Watford beat Liverpool 3-0 to win four consecutive top-flight games for the first time since 1987.
And while Flores is unsure of the striker's long-term future, he is confident Ighalo will not be leaving Vicarage Road in January.
"I think Ighalo is completely clever, he chose five months ago the option to stay here with Watford," said Flores. "He chose to stay here because he imagined something special for him. It's very clever, he knew perfectly it was the best option for him.
"I think he'll finish the season with Watford, after that anybody knows.
"We have amazing strikers, but we have the facility to score every single match because we create attempts. I admire these players because we create a plan, then they supersede the expectation I create before the match."
Captain Troy Deeney and strike partner Ighalo were in fine form against Liverpool on Super Sunday and Flores revealed the key to fielding two strikers revolves around challenging both frontmen to drop into a regimented cordon in defence.
"If you are playing with two strikers separate to the rest of the players it's very difficult to stop other teams," said Flores. "If you're playing 30 to 35 matches with fewer players when defending then you can tire.
"So that's the key: when we are playing with two strikers and we have the ball we have a lot of possibilities, for good football, counter-attacking or playing long ball out of defence.
"But when we don't have the ball they come back with the rest of the players and form a compact block. For us it's necessary to be defending with all our players."
While Ighalo has gained plenty of plaudits for the impact he is having this season, the Nigerian striker is similarly impressed with what his manager is achieving at Vicarage Road.
Ighalo said of Flores: "He is one of the best coaches I've worked with in terms of game plans and encouraging his players. He is a very intelligent guy and deserves big credit for everything we are going through now."
