Trio of Watford players look set for loan or transfer

The 27-year-old, who joined Watford from Udinese in the 2020 January transfer window for a fee believed to be around €8m, was spotted training with Udinese in online videos yesterday, but that appears to be more for his fitness than because of a return to play for them.

Pussetto made seven Premier League appearances when he arrived at Vicarage Road, but they only amounted to 67 minutes in total – the longest was 16 minutes in the 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace before the pandemic brought a pause to the season.

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At the start of the 2020/21 Pussetto made a five-minute substitute appearance in the 0-0 Championship draw at Sheffield Wednesday and also recorded his only start in Watford colours, when he played the first 84 minutes of the 3-1 League Cup defeat at Newport County.

He was then loaned back to Udinese where he 13 made league and cup appearances before a cruciate ligament injury brought his season to an end.

The 2021/22 season saw Pussetto loaned to Udinese again, and this time he clocked up 31 appearances and scored six times.

Last summer he headed back to Italy again, this time joining Sampdoria on loan. Pussetto made six appearances before picking up a knee injury which required surgery and ruled him out for the season.

Yesterday Udinese released a video on their social media channels which showed many of their players arriving for pre-season training – Hasane Kamara was one of them along with Pussetto.

However, while he is expected to be loaned out again for the season to a European club, there are no indications currently that it’ll be Udinese.

The forward’s contract with Watford ends next summer, so it’s likely that he will not play for the club again and will finish a four-year stint at Vicarage Road having made just nine appearances amounting to just 156 minutes of football.

Another forward still under contract to Watford – Ashley Fletcher – has not yet trained with Ismael Valerien’s squad this summer, and discussions continue with regard to his future, both short term and longer term.

Ashley Fletcher scoring against Crystal Palace in the League Cup. (Image: Action Images)

The 27-year-old who started his career at Manchester United moved to Vicarage Road from Middlesbrough on a free transfer in July 2021, signing a five-year contract.

He made only three substitute appearances in the Premier League, amounting to 28 minutes, but started two League Cup and an FA Cup tie, before being loaned to MLS club New York Red Bulls.

The striker made just seven appearances in America, and last summer joined Watford’s fellow Championship side Wigan on a season-long loan.

Fletcher made a total of 28 league and cup appearances and scored twice for the Latics, as they were relegated to League One.

His final appearance was as a substitute in a 2-1 win over Millwall in April.

The forward has not featured in either of Watford’s pre-season friendly games, and footage of training during the first couple of weeks of pre-season have not shown him either.

Another loan move could be a possibility, although a permanent transfer away cannot be ruled out.

Maduka Okoye (Image: Alan Cozzi/Watford FC)

Goalkeeper Maduka Okoye has been training at London Colney this pre-season, but having not played in either of the two friendlies it seems likely his future lies away from Vicarage Road.

The Nigerian international moved to Watford from Sparta Rotterdam a year ago, for an initial fee in the region of €3.5m.

He made only two appearances for the Hornets, in the League Cup and FA Cup, and although he was on the bench for the majority of the first half of the season, he was only named as a substitute four times in 2023.

A shoulder injury then curtailed his involvement, and with both the player and Watford open to the idea of a permanent transfer away, it would be no surprise if Okoye were to leave during the transfer window.