Ismaila Sarr’s move to Marseille is worth at least €18million to Watford, the Watford Observer understands.

The winger’s permanent move to the French club was confirmed late last night after the player had passed his medical at their pre-season training camp in Germany and signed a five-year deal.

The transfer fee is officially undisclosed but we understand the move will net the Hornets in the region of at least £15.5million based on current exchange rates.

Confirmation of the move had been expected since Sunday when it was reported the Hornets had agreed terms with the Ligue 1 giants for the Senegal international.

Sarr’s departure has been all the cards all summer after Watford failed to secure an immediate return to the Premier League, but the deal is better than some fans may have expected for a player in the last year of his contract and whose market value had fallen since he had moved to Vicarage Road from Rennes for a club record fee in 2019.

The player’s exit is the most high profile since Joao Pedro’s move to Brighton & Hove Albion at the end of last summer, but it continues an overhaul of the squad that has seen former club captain Tom Cleverley retire and players including Craig Cathcart and William Troost-Ekong also move on.

Sarr had come within a phone call to former Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard of moving to the Midlands last summer, but remained at Vicarage Road and scored ten goals in 39 appearances as the Hornets failed to make the play-offs.

The highlight of his time at Vicarage Road arguably came in a memorable two-goal performance when Watford ended Liverpool’s 423-day unbeaten Premier League run with a 3-0 victory at Vicarage Road in February 2020.

The Hornets were ultimately relegated at the end of that coronavirus lockdown-interrupted season, but Sarr remained at Vicarage Road and was a major reason why the club were promoted back to the top flight at the first attempt, scoring 13 goals and setting up another ten in 39 appearances.

Sarr scored 34 goals in 131 league and cup appearances during his Watford career and the Hornets ended their club statement by thanking him for the memories he had created and wishing him well for the future.