Cagliari, Empoli interested in Nigerian star who haunted Jose Mourinho at AS Roma

Serie A clubs Empoli and Cagliari have included Nigerian forward David Okereke in their transfer shortlist ahead of this summer deadline, Soccernet.ng reports.

Currently on the books of Serie B side Cremonese, Okereke spent the second half of last season on loan at Torino.

However, the experience was largely a forgettable one as the former Club Brugge star featured in nine league games, making only three starts and scoring zero goals.

Still, Okereke remains a respected element in Serie A where he has 14 goals across appearances for Venezia and Cremonese.

Two of those goals came against AS Roma when Jose Mourinho was in charge. Okereke netted the winner in a 3-2 victory over Roma in November 2021 and struck a first-minute goal in a 1-1 draw in May 2022.

Following Okereke’s previous exploits, the former Nigeria youth international has attracted the attention of two top-flight Cagliari and Empoli.

According to CagliariNews, Cagliari like Okereke’s profile and are ready to make a move for the attacker when the club sanctions the sale of centre-forward Gianluca Lapadula.

Empoli appear even more serious than Cagliari in their pursuit of Okereke, as according to Calcio Spezia, the club has made an offer to the Nigerian.

Valued at just over two million euros, Lagos-born Okereke joined Cremonese in 2022 with a contract that will expire in June 2025.