Watford – Sport Witness http://sportwitness.co.uk Sun, 19 Nov 2023 12:06:55 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.1.15 Pozzo family eyeing to ‘permanently’ swap two players between Watford and Udinese in January http://sportwitness.co.uk/pozzo-family-eyeing-permanently-swap-two-players-watford-udinese-january/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/pozzo-family-eyeing-permanently-swap-two-players-watford-udinese-january/#respond Thu, 16 Nov 2023 14:16:42 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=447935 As Italian newspaper Messaggero Veneto today talks about the partnership between Udinese and Watford, they bring a suggestion of a transfer for the winter window. Relayed by Udinese Blog, the outlet mentions a potential swap between João Ferreira and Matheus Martins. It’s pointed out that the fullback, who’s loaned by Watford to Udinese this season,

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As Italian newspaper Messaggero Veneto today talks about the partnership between Udinese and Watford, they bring a suggestion of a transfer for the winter window.

Relayed by Udinese Blog, the outlet mentions a potential swap between João Ferreira and Matheus Martins.

It’s pointed out that the fullback, who’s loaned by Watford to Udinese this season, is an ‘interesting prospect’ having a good season and could move to the Serie A side ‘permanently’.

Going the opposite way, there could be Matheus Martins, who’s having the inverse situation, loaned by the Italians to the Hornets until the end of the season.

Udinese bought the Brazilian from Fluminense last winter and immediately sent him to Watford on loan. Since then, he has four goals and one assist in 22 appearances for the club.

Ferreira is valued by Transfermarkt at €1m, while Martins has his price at €7m. But we all know their market valuations may not mean a lot in the end, since it’s the Pozzo family who will decide whether the players deserve to be exchanged between the clubs.

After all, that’s the benefit of owning more than one club in different leagues.

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“We don’t have a top team” – Watford transfer chief says club have ‘reset the project’, asked about January window http://sportwitness.co.uk/dont-top-team-watford-transfer-chief-says-club-reset-project-asked-january-window/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/dont-top-team-watford-transfer-chief-says-club-reset-project-asked-january-window/#respond Tue, 14 Nov 2023 13:09:57 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=447328 Appointed as Watford’s sporting director by the Pozzo family back in 2020, Cristiano Giaretti has been the one pulling the strings on the transfer market at Vicarage Road over the past three years. That included overseeing their relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2022 season, and then their 11th placed finish

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Appointed as Watford’s sporting director by the Pozzo family back in 2020, Cristiano Giaretti has been the one pulling the strings on the transfer market at Vicarage Road over the past three years.

That included overseeing their relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2022 season, and then their 11th placed finish in the Championship the following campaign.

There will have been some distant hope that Watford could challenge to return to the top-tier this year, but it’s clear from their current 13th spot that this isn’t going to happen just yet, as Giaretti himself explained to TuttoMercatoWeb.

Praising Leicester and how well they have done since bringing in Enzo Maresca as their manager, the sporting director then moved onto his current club.

Asked about Watford’s goal, he said: “We have reset the project by rejuvenating the team. We are full of young people full of desire to do well. The objective is to do the best. We want at least the play-offs, we want to move up. There is an excellent spirit, great unity intent.

“We don’t have a top team, but a lot of talent and we have everything to play for the play-offs, The January transfer window? Let’s see: first, there are still about 10 games, then we’ll understand what we can aspire to.”

As previously stated, Watford currently sit 13th in the Premier League, having won five games from a possible 16, drawing six and losing the other five, all the while scoring 23 goals and conceding 18.

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“I’m absolutely convinced” – Watford player trying to recruit manager, clearly a big fan http://sportwitness.co.uk/im-absolutely-convinced-watford-player-trying-recruit-manager-clearly-big-fan/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/im-absolutely-convinced-watford-player-trying-recruit-manager-clearly-big-fan/#respond Tue, 14 Nov 2023 11:16:18 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=447292 Currently without a job, Graham Potter has been linked with the Sweden national team job, as Janne Andersson is set to step down from his post after his failure to qualify for next year’s Euros. He will be in charge for the next two games before moving on, at which point there will be a

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Currently without a job, Graham Potter has been linked with the Sweden national team job, as Janne Andersson is set to step down from his post after his failure to qualify for next year’s Euros.

He will be in charge for the next two games before moving on, at which point there will be a need for a new man in charge, with Watford’s Ken Sema really hoping for it to be the former Chelsea boss.

In fact, the winger has revealed to the local media, relayed by Aftonbladet, that he is trying to get in touch with Potter about it, after the two worked together at Östersund.

Speaking to the local media, he explained he had reached out to his former manager, but has yet to receive a response.

He said: “I try to do it, but he is difficult. He no longer answers when I call. I don’t know why or if it is a good sign or a bad sign. It would be incredibly fun if that were to happen. He is an incredible manager and an incredible person who I think could give a lot to Swedish football. Then, I don’t know if he is as hungry as I am or maybe we all are.”

Potter left a great impression in Sweden after his time at Östersund, which helped him land better roles in European football, including those at Brighton and eventually his most recent club.

This is why Sema believes he is the right man for the job after witnessing what he can do first hand on the training pitch.

He added: “I think it would do a lot (for the national team). Then again, I don’t know how he is as a national team manager. I have only seen him at club level and worked with him on a daily basis. I think it’s a special job to have, but I’m absolutely convinced he could do great things.”

The 30-year-old Watford player has been in and out of the first-team this season at Vicarage road, making 10 appearances in the Championship to date, picking up one goal and three assists along the way.

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Pozzo family could send player to Watford just six months after Udinese arrival http://sportwitness.co.uk/pozzo-family-send-player-watford-just-six-months-udinese-arrival/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/pozzo-family-send-player-watford-just-six-months-udinese-arrival/#respond Mon, 13 Nov 2023 16:48:45 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=447232 It appears that the Pozzo family are thinking about bolstering Watford with an Udinese player this upcoming January window. That’s according to TuttoMercatoWeb, who report that those in charge of the Serie A side are tempted to send Etienne Camara back to England. The midfielder was signed from Huddersfield in the summer, but has yet

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It appears that the Pozzo family are thinking about bolstering Watford with an Udinese player this upcoming January window.

That’s according to TuttoMercatoWeb, who report that those in charge of the Serie A side are tempted to send Etienne Camara back to England.

The midfielder was signed from Huddersfield in the summer, but has yet to make a league appearance for his new club, which is why a move to Watford is being mulled over.

It isn’t said in which manner the deal would take place, but it’s made clear the 20-year-old could ‘leave Udinese shortly’, with the other Pozzo club a likely destination.

Once the move to Watford is complete, the Championship side ‘will decide what to do’.

That sounds more like a permanent transfer than anything else, and with a summer transfer costing Udinese just €2m, a similar fee for a move in January to Vicarage Road would be a huge surprise.

Either way, one to look out for, as we approach a time of the year when clubs look for easy and quick ways to improve their squads.

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“Should’ve been more patient” – Player suggests he moved to Watford too soon, transfer decision fueled by excitement http://sportwitness.co.uk/shouldve-patient-player-suggests-moved-watford-soon-transfer-decision-fueled-excitement/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/shouldve-patient-player-suggests-moved-watford-soon-transfer-decision-fueled-excitement/#respond Tue, 31 Oct 2023 17:37:49 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=445410 Belgian forward Obbi Oularé has told Het Laatste Nieuws that he no regrets over joining Watford despite struggling to impress during his time at Vicarage Road. The 27-year-old spent a year at Standard Liège’s academy before becoming part of Club Brugge’s youth system in 2013. He impressed for the latter and that helped him make

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Belgian forward Obbi Oularé has told Het Laatste Nieuws that he no regrets over joining Watford despite struggling to impress during his time at Vicarage Road.

The 27-year-old spent a year at Standard Liège’s academy before becoming part of Club Brugge’s youth system in 2013. He impressed for the latter and that helped him make his way into their first team a year later.

His displays for the Jupiler Pro League side convinced Watford to invest in his services in 2015.

Oularé finished his debut season with the Hornets with only three appearances as he was overlooked by their then manager, Quique Sánchez Flores.

Watford sent him out on loan to Zulte Waregem, Willem II, Royal Antwerp and Standard Liège for three years, before they sold him to the latter in 2019. The attacker has struggled with fitness and HLN points out that he has missed 701 days due to injuries.

When asked if he would have wanted to change anything from the past, he said: “I would tell my younger self to be patient. In the beginning of my career, things may have happened too quickly. It was also just difficult to stay calm. I played for the reserves of De Rode Duivels.

“I broke through at Club Brugge, the best team in Belgium. The press wrote pages full of all the clubs that were supposedly interested in me. It was about money, a lot of money. Then it’s not easy to make the right choice at that moment, at that age.”

According to HLN, the Belgian made only 13 starts for the first team before Watford paid €8m for his signature.

On his move to Watford, Oularé explained: “I should have been more patient. Stay one or two more years. But I’m not going to say that I regret my choice either. What if I had been given opportunities at Watford and had broken through in England?

“But in retrospect I would approach it differently. I would think more about the transfers I would make. About my entourage and people I surround myself with. I was young. I trusted people quickly, sometimes too quickly. Unfortunately, football is not a world in which you are allowed to do that.”

Oularé returned to Belgium when he joined second division side Lierse Kempenzonen in the last window.

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Club criticised for signing too many players from Watford – Prices considered ‘too high’ http://sportwitness.co.uk/club-criticised-signing-many-players-watford-prices-considered-high/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/club-criticised-signing-many-players-watford-prices-considered-high/#respond Tue, 24 Oct 2023 16:49:15 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=444522 With Watford and Udinese both belonging to the Pozzo family, the exchange of players between the clubs has always been seen by the football media as something natural. However, with both clubs not achieving great results in the past few years, people start wondering how good this partnership actually is. As manager Andrea Sottil is

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With Watford and Udinese both belonging to the Pozzo family, the exchange of players between the clubs has always been seen by the football media as something natural.

However, with both clubs not achieving great results in the past few years, people start wondering how good this partnership actually is.

As manager Andrea Sottil is about to be sacked by Udinese, TuttoMercatoWeb today feature a story wondering whether the recent coaches were really the club’s biggest problems.

The website points out that the Serie A side continue to sign too many players from Watford, with prices that could be considered ‘too high’.

TuttoMercatoWeb makes a full recap of those transfers, recalling the many millions that have gone to the Vicarage Road side.

It’s said that those signings ‘don’t improve’ Udinese’s squad, although they’re quite careful to avoid a claim there’s anything underhand going on.

Just this summer, the Italian side made the signings of Christian Kabasele, Maduka Okoye and Domingos Quina from Watford, besides having the return of Hassane Kamara, who’d been loaned to the English side last season.

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“We were really close to him” – Director on the player he almost signed for Watford, fell in love with him http://sportwitness.co.uk/really-close-director-player-almost-signed-watford-fell-love/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/really-close-director-player-almost-signed-watford-fell-love/#respond Wed, 18 Oct 2023 10:16:18 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=443388 Filippo Giraldi spent over eight years at Watford before leaving them for Nottingham Forest in 2020. The Italian initially joined the Hornets as their scout in 2012 and was then promoted to technical director in 2014. TuttoMercatoWeb have published a detailed interview with Giraldi, where he revealed that Watford failed to sign Kim Min-jae in the

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Filippo Giraldi spent over eight years at Watford before leaving them for Nottingham Forest in 2020.

The Italian initially joined the Hornets as their scout in 2012 and was then promoted to technical director in 2014.

TuttoMercatoWeb have published a detailed interview with Giraldi, where he revealed that Watford failed to sign Kim Min-jae in the past.

The South Korea international arrived in Europe for the first time when Fenerbahçe signed him from Chinese side Beijing Guoan in 2021.

Giraldi has revealed he was offered a chance to sign the 26-year-old defender for Watford when he was at South Korean side Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. He explained this when TMW asked him about the signings he failed to undertake.

“The player we were really close to and with whom we had daily contact both with the boy and with the agents was Kim min-jae,” he said.

“We were really close to him when he was still playing in Korea: he was reported to me through the scouts and I fell in love, an incredible resilience and a high-level personality. We actually got to the signing steps, but at that moment Jeonbuk decided not to disregard an agreement they had already made with Beijing Guoan: the boy was respectful and went to China. Even when he was there, we resumed contact, but at that moment we couldn’t carry out the operation there.”

Min-jae joined Napoli in 2022 and established himself as one of the best centre-backs in Serie A last season. This saw him linked to Manchester United but he ended up moving to Bayern Munich in the last window.

Giraldi has also told TMW that Fikayo Tomori was a step away from joining Watford after his loan spell at Derby County during the 2018/19 season. Tomori, who’s currently at AC Milan, was then owned by Chelsea.

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Watford player pulled out of national team – Not recovered from injury as expected http://sportwitness.co.uk/watford-player-pulled-national-team-not-recovered-injury-expected/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/watford-player-pulled-national-team-not-recovered-injury-expected/#respond Mon, 09 Oct 2023 13:59:47 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=441834 Watford player Ken Sema won’t be out with the Swedish national team in this international break, according to local reports. Aftonbladet writes that due to a muscle injury, the 30-year-old has been pulled out of the squad, being replaced by Gabriel Gudmundson. Sema’s place in the national team had already been a doubt for Sweden

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Watford player Ken Sema won’t be out with the Swedish national team in this international break, according to local reports.

Aftonbladet writes that due to a muscle injury, the 30-year-old has been pulled out of the squad, being replaced by Gabriel Gudmundson.

Sema’s place in the national team had already been a doubt for Sweden manager Janne Andersson, as when releasing the squad, the coach said he didn’t know whether the Watford player could make it.

The player had started in the first six games the Hornets played this season, but ended up sidelined with a muscle injury and missed their last six matches.

Since Sweden had called him up at first, it seems there was hope he’d recover in time, so that could at least be a good sign for Watford fans that the process is in its final stages.

Sema has 17 caps for the national team, and had been a starter in their two games in the last international break, having played against Estonia and Austria. He’s missing the matches against Moldavia and Belgium, although the first is a friendly.

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“I spoke to the club” – Player explains why ‘after 7 years at Watford’ he wanted summer move http://sportwitness.co.uk/i-spoke-club-player-explains-7-years-watford-wanted-summer-move/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/i-spoke-club-player-explains-7-years-watford-wanted-summer-move/#respond Tue, 03 Oct 2023 11:16:52 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=440854 Defender Christian Kabasele has explained he decided to leave Watford for Udinese this summer as he felt the time had come to depart. The centre-back has been speaking to TV12, relayed by Udinese.it, regarding his move to Italy after seven years at Vicarage Road. Kabasele became the latest in a long line of transfers between

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Defender Christian Kabasele has explained he decided to leave Watford for Udinese this summer as he felt the time had come to depart.

The centre-back has been speaking to TV12, relayed by Udinese.it, regarding his move to Italy after seven years at Vicarage Road.

Kabasele became the latest in a long line of transfers between Watford and Udinese over the last decade, with the two clubs owned by the Pozzo family.

He joined the Italians in a €6.5m deal, bringing an end to an extended spell at Watford that saw him make 166 appearances for the club since his arrival from Genk in July 2016.

He’d been a regular for them over that time, featuring in both the Premier League and Championship as the Hornets have regularly moved between the two divisions.

It means any decision to depart was not an easy one, with him very much a part of Watford’s furniture, but he says the decision was made after a conversation with the club on the matter.

“After seven years at Watford I felt that the right time had come to change,” he said.

I spoke to the club, and they thought it would be a good team for me. (I want to) bring my experience to the team. There are many good young people, if I can help them I will do so with pleasure.”

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Player finally set to join club after Watford exit – Big expectation after weeks of negotiations http://sportwitness.co.uk/player-finally-set-join-club-watford-exit-big-expectation-weeks-negotiations/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/player-finally-set-join-club-watford-exit-big-expectation-weeks-negotiations/#respond Thu, 28 Sep 2023 12:16:40 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=440230 Following a summer exit from Watford, Andres Aguillar now has a new club to play for. According to Peruvian outlet Depor, the midfielder is on his way to Sporting Cristal. It’s said there are just a few details left for Aguillar to fly to South America and start training with his new club. Depor claims

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Following a summer exit from Watford, Andres Aguillar now has a new club to play for.

According to Peruvian outlet Depor, the midfielder is on his way to Sporting Cristal.

It’s said there are just a few details left for Aguillar to fly to South America and start training with his new club.

Depor claims that the negotiations with the former Watford player have been taking place for a few weeks now, and they hope to have him for the 2024 season.

The story highlights how the youngster had shown ‘big potential’ in the Hornets’ youth ranks, so there’s quite an expectation around his signing at the Peruvian side.

Despite being born in Stevenage, Aguillar has Peruvian and Spanish nationality.

Back at the start of the summer, when it was known he’d leave Watford, reports from the South American media claimed that he had offers from England, France and Germany. It seems those options didn’t work out for him, though.

Despite appearances in the FA Youth Cup, the midfielder never had the chance to make his debut for the Hornets’ first team.

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