Just In: Watford keen to sign Ipswich man and Chelsea star

According to The Athletic, Watford considered loan standout Kieffer Moore of Ipswich Town and Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos as prospective recruits in January.

At one point, Watford appeared to be in a position to challenge for the play-offs. However, a terrible run in recent months has left them 14th in the Championship standings.

As a result, Valerien Ismael was removed of his duties over the weekend, and Tom Cleverley was named interim manager. He is tasked with helping the Hornets finish the season on a good note, with seven points separating them from the drop and 13 between them and sixth place.

Now, The Athletic has highlighted some of the winter recruitment concerns that contributed to the team’s prolonged struggles and Ismael’s eventual departure.

According to reports, Watford has considered striker Kieffer Moore and Chelsea talent Andrey Santos as potential acquisitions. Of course, neither would join, with Moore moving to Championship promotion contenders Ipswich Town and Santos leaving to France with Strasbourg on loan.

The former has emerged as a new star for Ipswich Town, scoring six goals and providing an assist in nine Championship games as the club competes for automatic promotion.

However, the latter Santos has only made two substitute appearances in Ligue 1 and has been left on the bench for the previous two games.

Watford’s continuous fall has been widely documented, but with action taken over Ismael, the hope is that they will at least finish the season on a better note. The focus will soon shift to next season, with significant improvement required if they are to go beyond the promotion fights they frequently find themselves in.