Watford transfer news: Hornets set to smash transfer record after £7m bid is accepted for Genoa winger Diego Perotti

Previous record was £3.25m for Nathan Ellington

(Getty Images)

Genoa have accepted a £7million club-record bid by newly-promoted Premier League club Watford for Argentina winger Diego Perotti, according to the BBC.

If the transfer is successful, the deal would double the 26-year-old’s £15,000-a-week wages and break Watford’s previous record signing of striker Nathan Ellington for £3.25m from West Brom in 2007.

Valencia have also expressed interest in signing Perotti, who would prefer a move to the Mestalla, though bids by the club are reportedly short of the Hornets’ offer.

The winger scored four goals in 27 matches after moving to the Serie A club last summer. He joins Austria defender Sebastian Prödl and Lithuania goalkeeper Giedrius Arlauskis as recent signings to Vicarage Road.

Perotti, a Europa League winner with Sevilla in 2014, made 159 appearances over eight years in La Liga before moving to Italy. He has also represented Argentina twice, making his international debut against Spain in November 2009.

Watford, who finished second place in the Championships last season, named former Atlético Madrid manager Quique Sanchez Flores as their fifth boss in a year earlier in June.