Reason for stalling Watford, Leyton Orient transfer revealed | OneFootball

Leyton Orient have been trying to seal a deal for full-back James Morris, and the reason why this still hasn't been completed has now been revealed.

Leyton Orient have been trying to seal a deal to take the Watford full-back James Morris to The Matchroom Stadium for some time, and it's now been revealed why the transfer is stalling.

A point below the Championship play-off places and with a game in hand on the clubs above them, Watford are in a strong position as the 2025-26 season reaches its final third.

With the January transfer window offering an opportunity to tweak first-team squads ahead of what promises to be a tight end to the season, the Hornets are wheeling and dealing ahead of next week's deadline.

But their inability to tie down one particular deal is having knock-on effects in League One, where Leyton Orient hopes to sign left-back James Morris have been delayed.

James Morris, Leyton Orient deal delayed as Watford search for a replacement full-back

The current position of James Morris's proposed transfer from Watford to Leyton Orient has been revealed in a Watford Observer report into the state of play with regard to the transfer window at Vicarage Road as deadline day nears.

They report that an agreement had been struck for Morris to join Orient earlier in the month, with the O's having wanted a deal finalised weeks ago. However, it's added that Morris will remain at Vicarage Road amid Watford's search for a new full-back, which is what's holding up the deal att his moment in time.

They also confirmed that interest in Morris hasn't only come from Brisbane Road, with interest from Spanish side Malaga along with outfits in Scotland and MLS.

With only a few days left before the January transfer window slams shut for the remainder of the season, there may now be some nervousness at Leyton Orient over whether they will be able to get Morris through the door before that deadline arrives.

Watford's James Morris transfer stance makes sense amid Leyton Orient interest

The Watford Observer reported on the 12th January that a deal had been agreed between James Morris and Leyton Orient, saying that Morris was ready to join the League One outfit. Indeed, it was said that Orient were wanting Morris available for their match against Reading, but more than two weeks on from that report, there doesn't appear to have been much movement on this front.

James Morris is a product of the Southampton academy, who moved to Vicarage Road in 2021 after being released from St Mary's. But over the four and a half years since he first arrived at the club, he's only made 55 appearances for the Hornets, of which just two have come in the Championship this season. And those two appearances didn't amount to much; three minutes against Swansea City in August and one minute against Leicester on Boxing Day.

Now 24-years-old, Morris needs more game-time, and Orient have been struggling in League One a little of late, with just one win in their last six games having dropped them to 16th place in the table. With Morris's contract at Vicarage Road, which was extended towards the end of the 2022-23 season, due to expire at the end of this season, there's every possibility that the Os could pick him up on a free transfer in the summer, but it's clear that they want the left-back sooner than that.

But the Watford head coach Javi Gracia will feel that they need to look after themselves first. Other than Morris, they only have Marc Bola to fill the left-back position, and while Bola has been a regular starter in that position for them throughout 2025-26, there will be concern at Vicarage Road over what they would have to do should anything happen to him throughout the closing stages of the season.

With a Championship play-off place potentially at stake, it is understandable that they would be cautious about loaning his only cover out elsewhere. The upshot of all this is that any deal to finally allow Morris to make his move to East London may go to the wire.