Exeter and Barnsley linked too. https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/l...er-barnsley-in-race-for-watford-defender/amp/
Uruguay winger who made his debut for ManUre last night. Watford want Facundo Pellistri on loan for remainder of the season (strettynews.com)
There's also the issue of how many home grown players are needed in the squad - if that's still a thing. Kone, Martins and Ferreira don't fit the bill - unless age is an issue - and we're apparently losing one who does - Pollock. It's all getting too complicated for me...
Kone and Martins are definitely U21 for the purposes of the squad allocation, not sure about Ferreira as he is 21.
Watford insist Ismaila Sarr will not leave in this window please log in to view this image By Adam Leventhal 11m ago If Watford reach 11pm on January 31 and Ismaila Sarr is no longer a Watford player then there will have been a significant change of heart among the hierarchy at the club. They are adamant that the Senegal attacker will not leave during this transfer window, The Athletic has been told. That will be music to the ears of fans who saw him deliver a man-of-the-match performance in the 2-0 win over Blackpool, rewarding him with a standing ovation on leaving the field after he scored the second goal from the spot. The primary reason Watford insist they will not sell is that they see Sarr, who turns 25 next month, as being vital to their chances of not only securing a Championship play-off place but trying to win automatic promotion despite the clear daylight of Burnley (top, and 16 points ahead) and second-placed Sheffield United, who are 11 points clear. Watford owner Gino Pozzo, who has the final say on all transfers, will weigh up what is more important to the club now and in the summer. Sarr is worth more to the club if he can help win promotion to the Premier League, which in turn will help the coffers far more. Sarr has 18 months left on his contract and there have been no meaningful talks about him signing an extension. It means recouping the £28.8 million club-record transfer fee that they paid Rennes in 2019 is looking increasingly unrealistic. Getting the most out of Sarr, who is admired by Tottenham Hotspur still, rather than the diminishing asset appears the priority. The Athletic spoke to a source close to the player, who requested anonymity to protect relationships, admitted that there is always a chance that interest manifests itself later in the window. During the summer Aston Villa came close to signing Sarr, while Crystal Palace have monitored his situation closely for a number of windows. please log in to view this image Sarr had a good World Cup with Senegal (Photo: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) His price tag is likely to have been helped by a solid showing for Senegal at the World Cup. Clubs have been put off by Watford’s punchy demands of more than £30 million in the past so waiting six months when he will only have a year left and may still be a Championship player may prove the more prudent approach. There has been nothing communicated to the player or his camp over a move to Watford’s sister club Udinese now or in the summer. Sarr’s performance against Blackpool — in which he scored his seventh of the season and 31st goal for the club in his 113th appearance — reflected the progressive step that he has taken in his game since returning from Qatar and playing under Slaven Bilic. The Watford head coach has not only switched his flank to the left, the position he often fills for Senegal, but built him up to try and deliver performances that meet the hype, especially as he is the standout star name in the line-up without Joao Pedro. “It’s like Senegal in the World Cup there’s no (Sadio) Mane, and he stepped up, so I told him there’s no Pedro, no (Keinan) Davis, it’s you,” said Bilic. The former Croatia centre-back and head coach understands that talent of Sarr’s calibre will always attract attention and there has been little to suggest he is aggitating for a move. “The best players are always on the market but Sarr is with us,” said Bilic. “He’s in good shape and state (of mind). I see him happy, I speak with him quite a lot, we have small talks and I notice that he recognises the situation that he’s always one of the (main) players — but at the moment he is the player and he is embracing that,” he said. There were a collection of scouts watching various players at Vicarage Road, and those watching Sarr would have taken with them glowing reports. He has frustrated in the past by not attacking defenders or going missing in games, but not on this occasion. His sliced shot against the bar in the fourth minute did not deter him and, at nearly every opportunity, he aimed to add forward momentum. There was a desire to get in behind, to find team-mates with crosses and to wriggle out of tight spaces in all areas. Sometimes he has cut a frustrated figure, often looking disillusioned, but in dismal conditions he was a picture of an engaged professional. There were claps and acknowledgement for good intentions from team-mates. His cool penalty on 87 minutes, reminiscent of his last goal, the no-look spot-kick against Ecuador at the World Cup, was the reward, but the moment that summed up a player exhibiting a confident swagger came ten minutes into the second half. Picking up the ball on the left touchline, he slipped the advances of a posse of players and calmly nutmegged Charlie Patino on the edge of the centre circle before gliding away and starting another promising attack. “I told him, ‘We’re going to run for you, going to do everything we can but you have to extra things’ and he did,” said Bilic. “He ran, he helped the team, he was leading the team, encouraging other players and what I like about him — which I didn’t know before — he likes that challenge to be important.” It was the first time Sarr had scored for Watford since the victory over Cardiff City on November 2, his sixth in 14 games. Bilic, the fans and the hierarchy will hope he can have an equally — if not more — profitable run in the next 19 games and continue to show that he can be an inspiration. That will be value to the team, and in the market when the time does come to sell. (Lead image: Sarr, right, celebrates scoring his clinical penalty with Martins. Photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
A tricky situation for Gino to be in really. It sounds as though Sarr may be off at the end of next season regardless, so some of his investment has to be recouped - couple that with the long standing need to invest in better players asap and it's not hard to see financial difficulties looming. That large injury list doesn't help either - bringing new players in often goes hand in hand with offloading others - most of those we could offload are on that injury list, so that's not going to happen. Who'd be a football club owner?
Two different sources (on the WFC Forums: Transfer Talk & Suggestions and on the 'Do Not Scratch Your Eyes' podcast) have predicted that the signing of a new central midfielder (first team ready) will be announced either on Monday or Tuesday, but they have no information about whom this player will be.
I think that that both of them are different people and that they have contacts (or possibly the same contact) who work at the club. One of them was reluctant to give more detail because he did not want to compromise his source, but he claims that the club were working on the signing last week (which is when he first predicted the arrival of a game changer - according to his contact) and today he specified that there would be an announcement about the signing of a central midfielder (who will be first team ready) on Monday or Tuesday. The other person just said that the arrival of a new midfielder will be announced on Monday, but that there are no other signings in the pipe line.
Preston supporters seem to think that Watford are signing Ben Whiteman and are not happy about it. He was not in their matchday squad on Saturday, but I do not know the reason.
Has had an "injury" apparently. Been linked with him before so wouldn't be the biggest surprise I guess. Quite young too. Been denied by Preston but guess they would do that . https://www.lancs.live/sport/football/transfer-news/ben-whiteman-transfers-watford-preston-25988358
