Philip Zinckernagel is keen to fight for his place at Watford this season in order to achieve his Premier League dream.

Having joined in the January transfer window last season, the attacking midfielder made his intentions immediately clear - that he was there for a chance to play top flight football.

"Watford is the biggest club in the Championship and the club with the best chances of going up to Premier League so it was more or less a no brainer," he said after his arrival.

"I always dreamed of playing in the big leagues, the top five in Spain, Italy, England, and for me Watford belongs in the Premier League."

There has been some speculation regarding his future at Vicarage Road this summer, with loan interest from EFL clubs, including Nottingham Forest, giving the club something to consider.

While sources are still not ruling out the possibility of him leaving on loan, the player seems to think he has a chance of making an impact.

In a recent club interview, the Dane said he was looking forward to the season beginning next weekend.

"I think we've been training really hard," he said. "Two weeks now until the Premier League is a relief, you can look forward and start thinking about the Premier League and playing real games again.”

After bagging a goal in a 4-1 friendly defeat to Arsenal, Zinckernagel said he was enjoying the demands of pre-season, even if he was finding it tough.

“It’s always more fun playing games than training, so it’s nice to be able to play,” he said. “We’ve had a few games at home, one against Stevenage and one against Arsenal.

“It’s fun to play good teams but at the moment we are working on our physical states; you play 45 against Stevenage and the next day you play 45 again. You’re not feeling fresh all the time but it’s part of pre-season. It’s a good experience but hard work.”