Watford confirm the departure of five senior players | OneFootball

Watford Football Club have announced the departure of five senior players.

The Hornets were relegated from the Premier League this season and will once again play their football in the Championship next campaign.

Ben Foster, Andre Gray and Nicholas Nkoulou will not be a part of life under new boss Rob Edwards, though, with the trio set to depart Vicarage Road this summer upon the expiry of their current deals.

Meanwhile, the Hornets have confirmed that midfielder Juraj Kucka has “chosen to activate a release clause in his contract” that sees him leave Hertfordshire having joined the club last summer.

Nigerian midfielder Peter Etebo, on loan from Stoke City, will return to his parent club, with the Hornets not taking up their reported option to make his temporary switch to WD18 a permanent one.

24 Watford quiz questions about their time in the EFL – Can you score 100%?

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1. Which was Watford's last season in the Championship?

2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21

The Verdict

There were no great surprises when Watford announced the departure of these five players today.

With the likes of Dan Bachmann and Pontus Dahlberg on the books, and Nigerian goalkeeper Maduka Okoye joining this summer, it was time for Ben Foster to move on.

Nkoulou barely featured owing to injury, meanwhile, Andre Gray never seemed likely to earn a new deal given his form at the club.

At 35-years-old, Juraj Kucka may have found the gruelling nature of a 46 game Championship season too much, and Peter Etebo, returning from an ACL injury, was perhaps deemed too much of a risk to sign.

It will certainly be interesting to see how the Hornets replenish their squad this summer as the club likely look to provide Rob Edwards with a team capable of challenging for promotion.