Watford: Club enter talks to sign Wesley Hoedt, offer made | OneFootball

The Dutch defender is in high demand this summer.

Saudi Pro League side Al-Shabab have made an approach to Watford over a potential deal for their captain, Wesley Hoedt.

According to The Athletic's Adam Leventhal, the Saudi Arabian club have held talks with both the player and the Hornets, and an offer has been made to Hoedt.

The 30-year-old Dutchman has been linked with a move away from Vicarage Road throughout the summer, with Turkey being the most likely destination at one point. This approach from Al-Shabab could change things significantly.

Al-Shabab approach Watford over Wesley Hoedt

Leventhal has said that the Saudis are confident that they can get a deal done for Hoedt, having already submitted their proposal to him. They did the same for Watford, but they have turned away Shabab's first club-to-club approach, as per The Athletic.

Hoedt is into the final year of his current deal, leaving the Hornets vulnerable to bids like this as he is set to leave for free next summer. Even though this potential freedom of choice isn't that far away, he is said to not be in any rush to leave his current team.

The initial interest in him came from Trabzonspor in Turkey. They were said to have offered €1 million (~ £850,000) for the player, but The Athletic stated that he wasn't interested in the move and that Watford wanted a lot more money than that to let him go.

Reports from Turkey then suggested that Trabzonspor were going to raise their offer in their pursuit of the 30-year-old. However, since then, Hoedt has picked up an injury which may have scuppered their defensive plans.

He picked up a knock against Wycome Wanderers in pre-season and, according to Haber Anlik, the Turkish side are now reconsidering their strategy in the transfer market.

News of a relatively quick return for Hoedt may have boosted Trabzonpsor's optimism over signing him. Watford manager Tom Cleverly said before his side's win over Stoke City that the captain should be back in a week or so, as per Andrew French.

Of course, while the 30-year-old's short spell off the pitch, compared to potential fears, will have probably made his Turkish suitors more hopeful of acquiring him before the end of the summer window, they now face stiff competition from a team that doesn't mind paying big wages to players, wages that could blow them out the water.

Watford's good start may help them keep Wesley Hoedt

In French's update from Cleverly, when he mentioned the likely return date of the Watford captain, he also touched on another highly coveted player of theirs: Yaser Asprilla. The Colombian winger is reportedly expected to leave the club this summer, and the boss said that he was going to have a talk with him to see where his head was at.

Considering what the prospects for this season first looked like, it was understandable for players like Asprilla and Hoedt to maybe look to see what else was out there. But now they have started well, scored 11 goals in their opening three games of the campaign and look to be on a much better trajectory than some feared.

Whether this up-turn in form is enough to keep the winger remains to be seen. But, given the fact that Hoedt doesn't appear to be pushing for any move, the good performances that have started off this season will do his chances of staying at Vicarage Road no harm.