Premier League side Watford are apparently interested in Swedish Under-21 goalkeeper Pontus Dahlberg. The IFB Goteborg keeper has been one of the rising stars of the Swedish Allsvenskan last year and could soon sign for Watford within the coming days, as per reports.
Following the unexpected sacking of head coach Marco Silva, Watford appointed Javi Garcia as their new boss, just hours after the sacking of Silva. The 47-year-old Spaniard will look to make some changes in the squad, first of which, will be to bring in some reinforcements within the remaining days of the January transfer window.
With Watford failing to win any of their last four Premier League matches while registering just one win in their last eleven games, coach Javi Garcia will definitely have a mammoth task of reviving the Hornets and stop the poor run of form.
One of the main reasons behind their recent demise has been their lacklustre defence. Only Stoke City have conceded more goals than Watford, who themselves have conceded more goals than any other side from the top half of the Premier League table this season.
While the likes of Christian Kabasele, Adrian Mariappa and Sebastian Prodl have failed to keep things in tip-top at the back, the mass deterioration of veteran keeper Heurelho Gomes is also evident.
The Brazilian keeper has already conceded 39 goals with a tally of 2.4 saves per game, which is inferior to his last seaosn’s tally of 2.76. His saves per goal ratio has also come down to 1.5 compared to last season’s 1.69. Gomes’ relatively disappointing performances forced Marco Silva to try out his luck with second choice keeper Orestis Karnezis, in their recent game against Leicester City but that didn’t pan out well either as the Hornets slumped to a 2:0 defeat.
Therefore, one would sense that the Hornets are in definite need of a new goalkeeper, who can not only prove to be a long-term replacement for Heurelho Gomes but also quickly impose himself in the Premier League and that’s where Pontus Dahlberg comes into play.
The 19-year-old has already established himself as a regular first-team player for Goteborg, helping them maintain a mid-table position in 2017. In fact, his glittering performances in the Allsvenskan has been rewarded with his first ever cap for the Swedish National Team earlier this year.
Dahlberg is someone who can help fix the porous defence of Watford with his clinical goalkeeping. He will no doubt be an interesting addition to Javi Garcia’s troops this January.
[Stat courtesy: Squawka]