Exclusive: Everton and Fulham eyeing Watford star | OneFootball

Everton and Fulham are both eyeing up Watford sensation Imran Louza ahead of a potential move this summer, Football League World understands

For Watford, the 2025/26 Championship campaign is set to fizzle out with yet another mid-table finish after falling short of competing for a potential play-off push.

It has been a varied season for the Hornets, who have occasionally appeared capable of staking their claim higher up the table but have lacked the consistency and, once again, have also contended with atypical managerial churn.

Having appointed Edward Still last month, Watford are now on their third manager of the campaign after parting ways with Paulo Pezzollano and Javi Gracia and they haven't enjoyed any serious upturn since inducting the Belgian.

Watford are positioned in 10th place with five games to spare, and any hopes of launching an eleventh-hour pursuit of the top-six feel futile with sixth-placed Southampton currently nine points clear and unbeaten in 16 matches across all competitions while also boasting a fixture in hand.

The Hertfordshire-based outfit will hope to end the season on a strong note before undertaking the requisite work in the summer transfer window to have a serious crack at challenging for a Premier League return next time around.

Much of that, however, will depend on the future of star midfielder Imran Louza, and Football League World can now exclusively reveal a fresh development involving the sought-after 14-cap Moroccan international.

Everton and Fulham eyeing Watford star Imran Louza

Louza is poised to represent one of the Championship's hottest properties as we edge ever closer to the summer window, with an increasing number of clubs joining the impending race to prise his services away from Vicarage Road.

As such, Football League World has learned that Everton and Fulham are now both in the mix to compete for the 26-year-old's signature this coming summer.

Sources close to FLW have described the Premier League pair as being "very keen" on Louza, with scouts from both Everton and Fulham understood to have regularly attended matches at Vicarage Road in recent months.

Whether that transpires into a move only awaits to be seen, with the current indication being that Everton and Fulham are taking an interest in watching Louza as opposed to readying a proposal at this moment in time, but scouts in attendance will doubtless be impressed with what they have seen in what has been a standout campaign from the ex-Nantes man.

A separate update via X from Sebastien Denis of Foot Mercato on Thursday afternoon has claimed that two unnamed top-flight outfits have sounded out Watford over a potential swoop for Louza, who is reportedly valued at €14 million (£12.1 million) and is also said to have interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Imran Louza has been immense for Watford this season - summer exit feels likely

Louza has been among the most impressive performers in the Championship this season, made all the more eye-catching by the fact he's done so while playing in a mid-table side with scarce designs on promotion and a lack of consistency throughout the current term.

An all-action central midfielder with no notable weaknesses to speak of, Louza's ability to score from range and carve out chances at will have come to the fire with a more-than-respectable haul of seven goals and nine assists.

He's easy on the eye, is technically a class or two above the Championship and can inject clear X-Factor, but Louza is also capable of helping to control the tempo of matches and even breaking up play when Watford are sitting deep and weathering the storm.

Such a versatile skill-set is only bound to earn further admiration as the summer window approaches, with Louza finally making good of his undoubted talent to establish himself as one of the leading operators outside of the Premier League.

The former French youth international will have two years to run on his Watford contract by the time the summer rolls around, which could represent the Hornets' last real opportunity to make serious money on a player who was snapped up for a £10 million fee back in 2021.

Should the reported asking price be true, they'll hardly be collecting much of a profit and Watford supporters would rightly be dismayed if they were to part ways with Louza for that kind of fee.

If that's how much they're asking for, though, then the writing would appear on the wall regarding his future, and time will tell whether Everton or Fulham will look to follow up their admiration with an official offer.