Watford fans will be hoping that former Forest Green Rovers manager Rob Edwards is the man to bring stability to Vicarage Road.
After leading Rovers to the League Two title, Edwards will be the man tasked with firing the Hornets back up to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
The 2022-23 campaign will mark the fourth consecutive season that Watford have played in a different league.
Edwards will become Watford’s eighth permanent manager since the start of 2018, and his quest to secure an immediate return to the top-flight could be made even more difficult with several of the club’s key players likely to depart this summer.
With clubs now switching their attentions to summer transfer business, TBR takes a look at five Watford players that could be targeted by Premier League clubs.
Watford players that could be targeted by Premier League clubs
Ismaïla Sarr
With four goals from the opening six Premier League games of the season, it looked like the talented Senegalese winger would comfortably surpass the five top-flight goals he scored during the 2019-20 campaign.
But the African Cup of Nations winner only managed one further Premier League goal which came in the 4-1 drubbing against Manchester United in November.
Despite scoring 13 goals and providing 10 assists in Watford’s last season in the Championship, Sarr is highly unlikely to stay at Vicarage Road beyond the summer transfer window.
The club-record signing from Rennes has attracted interest from the likes of Everton, Newcastle and Crystal Palace.
Emmanuel Dennis
The Nigerian finished the Premier League season averaging a goal involvement in every other game with 10 goals and six assists from 33 appearances.
Dennis’ goal tally was double Watford’s second top scorer and his impressive first season in England isn’t likely to have gone unnoticed.
The former Club Brugge man, who was signed for £3m last summer, has been linked with a £20m move to West Ham in the summer.
The five-time Nigerian international has a brace in the Santiago Bernabeu to his name and he could prove to be a shrewd summer signing.
Of the Watford players that could be targeted by Premier League clubs – it seems a formality that both Sarr and Dennis will embark on new chapters this summer.
Hassane Kamara
Despite being signed during the January transfer window, the Ivory Coast international was named Watford’s Player of the Season.
The 28-year-old left high-flying Ligue 1 side Nice, who secured Conference League football next season, to join the Hornets.
The left-back started 18 of 19 Premier League games when arriving to England and his impressive interception statistics could prompt interest.
Although he only featured during the second half of the campaign, Kamara finished third in the league’s interceptions charts (94).
He narrowly missed out on ousting Jan Bednarek (95) and Declan Rice (96), according to FBref. Like Dennis, Kamara has also been linked with a move to David Moyes’ Hammers, according to The Express.
Joao Pedro
The Brazilian may have only scored three Premier League goals, but he showed glimpses of his quality and potential which could have caught the gaze of top-flight clubs.
At the age of 20, Pedro has ample years to develop into a quality player but with Dennis and Sarr both likely to leave this summer, the Hornets will likely try and keep Pedro.
With Watford’s star duo set to move, their departures could give Pedro the opportunity to become a key player for the Hornets.
Joshua King
We reach the finale of Watford players that could be targeted by Premier League clubs, and according to the Athletic – King is more than likely to leave Vicarage Road this summer.
The Norwegian scored five goals this season, three of which came against former club Everton – a side he failed to score a single goal for.
King, who could be one of five former Bournemouth players that Scott Parker could consider signing, has struggled to find the form that saw him score 16 Premier League goals for the Cherries in 2016-17.
Given his ability to score goals in the top-flight in the past, the 30-year-old could be a punt worth taking.