Watford FC urged to retain 'immense' star amid potential exit talk - he's 'the difference' for Hornets | OneFootball

Imran Louza's recent comments have caused plenty of debate at Vicarage Road

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

It has been, rather unsurprisingly, an extremely chaotic and mixed start to the current Championship season for Watford, who are looking to now build further momentum under the management of Javi Gracia.

The Spaniard returned to Vicarage Road at the start of October following an extremely short-lived reign for his predecessor, Paulo Pezzolano, who left the Hornets in 11th place at the time of his departure.

An extremely popular figure with supporters after strong exploits in his first spell with the Hertfordshire side in the Premier League, during which they also reached the FA Cup final in 2019, Gracia has accumulated eight points from the first 18 available, with both of his victories coming on home soil against West Bromwich Albion and Middlesbrough.

Given how the Pozzo family have operated since completing their takeover in 2012, the club continued to oversee plenty of turnover in the summer, despite the fact the aforementioned hierarchy stated their main focus would be on developments at Vicarage Road.

Despite a continuation of change, one figure who has remained a constant link between several managers and head coaches is Moroccan midfielder, Imran Louza.

The deep-lying midfielder has been the standout performer for Watford across the opening 15 games under both Pezzolano and Gracia, with his ability to dictate the flow of a game well-documented at this point, despite not always fully showcasing such talents.

However, recent comments from the 26-year-old have sparked debate over a potential January exit. Unsurprisingly, Football League World's Watford fan pundit, Justin Beattie, has urged the club to retain his services if they harbour ambitions of the play-offs.

So far this season, Louza has been one of the Championship's standout performers, posting a strong tally of six goals and four assists across all competitions, which is by far and away his best return for the club with 30 league games remaining.

The Nantes-born midfielder joined the club back in 2021 for £10m from his hometown club, and is under contract at Vicarage Road until the summer of 2028 after penning a long-term extension three years ago.

He was the subject of a reported seven-figure offer from Lokomotiv Moscow in late August, and after an impressive three-month spell so far this season, his long-term future with Watford is now up for debate after comments made to French publication, Ouest-France - relayed by Sport Witness.

When asked what the future holds, Louza stated: “We’ll see. It’s true that I want to experience something different, the club is aware of that, they know what I want.

“But now that the transfer windows are closed, I’m focused on my club. What’s meant to happen will happen in January or next summer. If I have opportunities that suit me, I’ll make the best decision.”

Unsurprisingly, Beattie has urged the Hornets to snub any transfer advances for their prized asset in the upcoming window amid the aforementioned comments.

"I've not seen where Imran Louza has said that he wants to experience something different, but Watford fans would hope he experiences something different after this season and doesn't go in January," he told FLW.

"He's been immense this year. Absolutely pivotal in his role," Beattie added.

"It would dent our promotion aspirations enormously if he was to leave us in the January transfer window. I think all Watford fans are crossing their fingers that he stays until the end of the season.

"He is going to be the difference between us having a very good season or an average season," our fan pundit explained.

The influence Louza has on such a young and energetic Hornets side has been laid bare in recent weeks, in particular the congratulations he received from multiple teammates for a spectacular assist as Marc Bola opened the scoring against Bristol City in their last outing almost two weeks ago.

Therefore, such claims from Beattie and the vast majority of Watford supporters cannot be underestimated, as the 14-time international is that important to how this season could turn out.

In what is a wide-open division, Louza's nine goal contributions have been key to an upsurge of sorts at Vicarage Road after an initially slow start under Pezzolano, and losing those so soon could see the Yellows fall to exactly where they found themselves two months ago.

However, the ball is very much in Watford's court when it comes to demanding a hefty fee for the midfielder, with just under three years on his current deal remaining.