Hull City target Nestory Irankunda has expressed his desire to play in the Premier League, whether that comes this season or in a year's time.
The forward caught the eye at the World Cup playing for Australia, and scored in the 2-0 group stage win over Turkey, before the Aussies were eliminated by Egypt in the Round of 32 on penalties.
City have interest in the 20-year-old, who bagged four goals for Wafford last season, and are thought to have seen their initial bid rebuffed by the Hornets, which was thought to be in the region of £8m plus £2m in add-ons.
Irankunda, who was born as a refugee in Tanzania before his family fled their homeland, caught the eye last season in the Championship and is a player City admire, though their valuation of the youngster is some way away from Watford's at this stage.
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"I see myself playing at a top level soon, whether that's now or next season," the attacking player told Australian network SBS Sports after the Socceroos World Cup exit. "It will happen eventually, in my opinion. I have that belief in myself that I can get to that level one day. Time will tell."
He then went on to speak about what it felt like to score in the world's biggest tournament. “It’s a dream come true because I watched all the World Cups before this one, and I was able to participate in this World Cup," the forward explained.
“When you see moments like Tim Cahill (in Brazil 2014 against the Netherlands) and Matthew Leckie’s goal against Denmark (at the World Cup in Qatar 2022), you want to do something like that. To be able to do that against Turkiye and see the reaction back home was an amazing feeling.
“It’s something that I want to continue doing, which is giving back to the people who show so much love to us South Australian boys and all the boys who play in the national team.”
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