Deal for Adlene Guedioura looks dead in the water

Adlene Guedioura has resigned himself to the fact his dream return move to Watford will not materialise.

Sources close to the player told us this evening that the deal to bring him to Vicarage Road for a third spell is virtually dead, with Watford’s initial bid of £500,000 lodged two months ago falling way short of Crystal Palace’s asking price of £2.5m. The deal, we are told, could have been concluded within the first seven days of the summer transfer window opening had a bid met Palace’s valuation.

The fact Watford have not returned with a second offer or attempted to resurrect negotiations has led the player to conclude the Hornets’ interest has cooled, especially as the Algerian would be another foreign player to add to the 21 they already have on their books. Only 17 can be registered in a 25-man Premier League squad.

The fact the bid for the midfielder was made before Quique Sanchez Flores arrived as head coach would suggest he is not as keen on the player as Gino Pozzo, Scott Duxbury and Luke Dowling, as was the case with Rudy Gestede. Pozzo submitted a bid early summer of £5m for the then Blackburn Rovers striker who was really keen on the move to Hertfordshire. However, Sanchez Flores did not see the target man fitting into his system and way of playing so the Hornets did not go back with an improved offer. Armed with the proceeds of the sale of Christian Benteke, Aston Villa swooped to add him to their forward line.

Guedioura is a different story altogether as he already has a deep connection with the Watford fans after two highly productive loan spells. He had his heart set on a return and, as we exclusively reported, even turned down £3.5m moves to QPR and Bristol as he was prepared to wait for Watford to step up their interest. On August 4th he retweeted a vine from Sky Sports News HQ showing Troy Deeney presenting Nic Cruwys with two Watford season tickets. And he also retweeted this post a day later about the first of his two goals for Watford against Cardiff in December.

He went back to Palace at the turn of the year only to be farmed back out on loan to Watford for the rest of the season. He returned to Palace for pre-season training and quickly discovered he does not figure in the plans of Alan Pardew. The Palace manager is so blessed with midfielders that Mile Jedinak and Jordon Mutch had to be content with a place on the bench for Sunday’s game against Arsenal while Joe Ledley was not even in the matchday squad. With only one year left on his three-year contract before he can move where he likes for free, Guedioura is thought to now prefer a loan move. QPR boss Chris Ramsey has not given up hope of bringing him to Loftus Road, saying the deal “is not out of the window.” Bournemouth were also linked with the 29-year-old this week.

Sanchez Flores’ decision not push for the transfer of Guedioura has been justified so far as Watford have been excellent in the centre of midfield, plus the former Nottingham Forest man is neither a holding midfielder, like Valon Behrami and Etienne Capoue, nor a fleet-footed attacker capable of playing behind Troy Deeney. His energy and workrate would, however, align with the demands Sanchez Flores places on his players, particularly when it comes to regaining possession.

The failure to secure a move away from Palace is the second blow for Guedioura in the space of a year. He was said to be gutted when Tony Pulis would not sanction a loan deal in the first half of 2014 as the player sought to gain first-team football to aid his chances of making Algeria’s World Cup squad. His lack of game time dashed his hopes of making Vahid Halilhodzic’s list for Brazil.

Click below to read the news we exclusively brought you earlier this month on the deal to sign the Algerian

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