Etebo sends transfer message to Claudio Ranieri, wants Watford stay

Peter Etebo has stated that he is keen to make his loan move from Stoke City to Watford a permanent thing.

During the summer, the 26-year-old arrived in Hertfordshire on a season-long loan deal with an option to buy. It was the third time Stoke have sent their player out since signing him in 2018 – with Etebo having spells with Getafe and Galatasaray.

Perhaps this recent travelling has left the midfielder wanting to settle down at one club. In the Hornets, it looks as though he may have found that team.
Indeed, while speaking on the club’s Inside The Hive podcast, Etobo explained how we would ‘love’ a permanent transfer after being impressed by the ‘amazing’ staff and players.

He said: “To be honest I would love to because everyone has been amazing, the staff, the players. The dressing room has been good.”
“Since I came to Watford, I have loved it since day one till today so I would love to if they want to make my deal to be permanent, I would love to stay,” the midfielder added.

Etebo spoke about his happiness to be with the Hornets ‘from day one’ and it looks as though the club reciprocated that. The Nigerian was immediately trusted to start as the defensive midfielder in the club’s first four games back up in the Premier League.

He then picked up an injury – a torn quad muscle – which meant he missed former manager Xisco’s last game in charge. That same fitness issue has kept him from playing once since Claudio Ranieri came in, but Etebo’s comments at least suggest that he is still enjoying his time at the club; albeit under a different manager for now.

It will be interesting to see how the box-to-box midfielder may fit into the Italian’s plans when he comes back. Moussa Sissoko seems to be a permanent fixture in the middle of the park, while the likes of Tom Cleverley, Imran Louza, Juraj Kucka, and Ozan Tufan have all been battling it out for the other two spots in the three-man midfield Ranieri often opts for.

For now, Etebo continues to work on building up his fitness after having surgery on his injured quad.