"Odd" - Watford fan pundit makes claim regarding treatment of Philip Zinckernagel | OneFootball

Watford completed the imaginative signing of Philip Zinckernagel from Bodo/Glimt in January 2021, but the Dane did not go on to have the kind of impact at Vicarage Road that many supporters would have hoped for.

The versatile attacking midfielder came up with six goal contributions in the second half of the 2020/21 season, that saw the Hornets kick on towards automatic promotion in the second tier under Xisco Munoz, despite only starting nine matches.

It was his only action for the Hornets who took the decision to loan Zinckernagel to Nottingham Forest for the 2021/22 season, of which they also sealed promotion to the Premier League, seeing the 28-year-old become a reliable performer under Steve Cooper at the City Ground.

All while Watford were suffering a very inept and embarrassing relegation from the top-flight.

After his impressive displays and consistency for the Reds in the second tier some would have expected Zinckernagel to be involved for the Hornets this term, but instead he was sold to Olympiacos.

It is almost hard to keep track of all the ins and outs at Watford, but Zinckernagel is player that may be looked back on as a missed opportunity, especially as this season may end with the Hornets managerless and outside the top six in the Championship.

One of FLW's Watford fan pundits, Justin Beattie, is disappointed with the way the club managed Zinckernagel and offered an insight into the supporters' opinions on the Dane, who has not pulled on a Hornets jersey for almost two years.

Speaking to Football League World, Beattie said: "Philip Zinckernagel looked like a very good player when we brought him in, and I think there was an expectation that we were going to see him playing for us the following season (2021/22).

"It was odd that he was moved on and there were question marks as to why he was moved on.

"He looked as though he was going to be quite a key player for us the following season.

"When we looked at his stats when he joined us they were absolutely amazing, so we thought 'we've actually found a player here and we can't wait to see him play for us'.

"It wasn't to be, should we have kept him? Yes I think we should.