As a result, Valerien Ismael was relieved of his duties at the weekend and Tom Cleverley was placed in charge on an interim basis. He is tasked with helping the Hornets end the season on a high, with seven points separating them and the drop and 13 between them and 6th.
Now though, The Athletic has highlighted some of the winter recruitment issues that ultimately contributed to their continued struggles and Ismael’s eventual exit.
They state that Watford discussed striker Kieffer Moore and Chelsea talent Andrey Santos as possible additions. Of course though, neither would join, with Moore moving to Championship promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town as Santos moved to France with Strasbourg, both being loans.
Since Moore and Santos moved elsewhere, they’ve endured different starts to their loans.
The former has become a new star for Ipswich Town, managing six goals and an assist in nine Championship games as they fight it out for automatic promotion.
As for the latter Santos though, he’s only made two substitute appearances in Ligue 1 and has been unused off the bench in the last two games.
Watford’s continued slide has been well-documented by now but with action taken over Ismael, the hope will be that they can at least end the season positively. Attention will soon turn to next season, with a vast improvement needed if they are to move towards the promotion fight they often find themselves in.
