Transfer latest: Watford FC set their sights on four more additions

The transfer committee at Watford FC are working furiously to furnish Quique Sanchez Flores with as many as four new players.

The head coach told us after Saturday’s game that “we are still looking for a couple of players who can add different characteristics for the team” but sources at Vicarage Road told us that deals for a midfielder, winger and a central defender are very much in the pipeline. A move for a left-back is still being discussed amid rising doubts about Daniel Pudil’s future and his suitability as cover for Jose Holebas. The Czech left back was in the squad on Saturday but has started only two competitive games since the league defeat at Huddersfield in January.

Chelsea’s Nathan Ake is being considered as one option for left-back cover, yet that loan deal hinges on Watford fighting off competition from Germany, guaranteeing Chelsea he will play a certain number of games and Jose Mourinho completing a deal for Baba Rahman after Tottenham would not sell them Danny Rose. Ikechi Anya, whose pace troubled Everton on Saturday, is being seriously considered as being a viable left-back option after he impressed the coaching staff in that position in the 1-0 defeat against Sevilla who put four past Barcelona last night.

News that a deal for a midfielder is on the cards will raise fans’ hopes that Adlene Guedioura may yet return to Vicarage Road. He is desperate to return to Watford after two successful loan spells last season and is hoping Gino Pozzo and Steve Parrish can come to some agreement after turning down moves to Bristol City and QPR. Whether Guedioura, unlike Rudy Gestede, fits into the plans of Sanchez Flores is not known.

What we do understand is that moves for a midfielder and winger will increase the number of foreign players at the club while deals for a left-back and a central defender will help boost the number of home-grown players on the books. Club insiders believe landing Diego Perotti would have represented the deal of the summer but Genoa club president Enrico Preziosi told FcInterNews yesterday that: “We don’t want to sell him. He’ll stay with Genoa 100 per cent.” This is at odds with the fact Watford had a club record bid of £7.8million accepted for the Argentine winger.

Miguel Britos was signing number eight of the summer and his paperwork has now been completed, making him available for selection for the home game against Southampton. His competitive Watford debut is likely to come in Round Two of the Capital One Cup.

Alessandro Diamanti became signing number 11 last week but the official announcement is being delayed by complexities surrounding the paperwork needed to secure his services on loan from Guangzhou Evergrande. Italian-based Moroccan left-sided defender Achraf Lazaar has been linked with a move to Vicarage Road this morning. (view our daily Hornets blog for more on this).

Owner Gino Pozzo, chief executive Scott Duxbury, sporting director Luke Dowling and chief scout Filippo Giraldi are also crunching the numbers over the club’s quota of foreign players. A maximum of 17 can be registered in a 25-man Premier League squad and even after the departure of Cristian Battocchio, they still have 21 on their books. They are mindful, however, of completely dismantling the squad which achieved promotion last season.

Click below to see what the Hornets need to do to satisfy Premier League squad requirements.

More Watford related news