Watford in talks to appoint 35-year-old to replace Javi Gracia | OneFootball

The Hornets are reportedly moving closer to appointing Javi Gracia's successor

A fresh update has emerged in Watford FC's latest managerial search, with current RSC Anderlecht assistant coach Edward Still expected to be present in Hertfordshire on Monday to continue talks over taking up the role.

That is according to an update from Belgian journalist, Sacha Tavolieri via X on Monday morning, with the Hornets still on the hunt for Javi Gracia's permanent successor at Vicarage Road after the Spaniard's second stint in charge of the club reached its conclusion on Sunday, February 1st.

It has, once again, been a chaotic season of Championship football for the Yellows, who are on the lookout for their third permanent head coach of the campaign after Gracia initially succeeded Uruguayan boss, Paulo Pezzolano, back in October.

Watford had overseen a strong upsurge up the second tier standings under Gracia, who had previously led them to the FA Cup final during his first spell at Vicarage Road.

Charlie Daniels, Dan Gosling and Adrian Mariappa have since taken charge of two Championship fixtures after Gracia's resignation, which came after the 2-0 home defeat to Swansea City on January 31st.

The Hornets have been involved in two rather tricky away assignments, and have taken just one point from the six available in said timeframe, with a credible goalless draw and performance against Hull City at the MKM Stadium being followed up by a narrow 1-0 defeat to fellow play-off hopefuls, Southampton, at St. Mary's on Saturday lunchtime.

Watford are next in action against Preston North End at Deepdale on Saturday afternoon, with the encounter coming 13 days after Gracia's decision to leave the club was confirmed, meaning the hierarchy will be hoping to finalise their next managerial search as swiftly as possible.

And, with there now just five days until the aforementioned clash against Paul Heckingbottom's side, the Hornets may be closing in on a breakthrough in discussions with Still, after links to the 35-year-old became widely reported towards the back end of last week.

As previously mentioned, speculation over Still's potential first appointment in a full-time managerial capacity coming with Watford began to grow ahead of the Championship side's fixture against Southampton over the weekend.

It has now been reported by Tavolieri on X that the Belgian-born man is set to be present at the club's London Colney training base on Monday to negotiate personal terms with the Watford board ahead of becoming their third boss of the season.

The update states that Still is keen on a move to Vicarage Road which would begin his English managerial career, having been appointed as Anderlecht head coach in 2025 following the appointment of Besnik Hasi, who was sacked last week at Lotto Park.

However, Tavolieri reports that Still will not be followed to Hertfordshire by fellow Anderlecht assistant, Jeremy Taravel.

This update comes after Still responded to links to the Watford job in an intriguing manner following his current employers' 2-0 defeat to KRC Genk on Sunday, which left them fourth in the Belgian Pro League.

“Nothing concrete has happened in the last few days. I was very surprised by the question," he said.

Edward Still will hope for a successful Championship period amid family ties

If appointed, Still would hope to endure a more successful stint in the Championship than his brother, Will, who lasted just a matter of months in charge of Southampton before being replaced by Tonda Eckert.

The 33-year-old is yet to find a subsequent managerial role after he was dismissed on the South Coast on November 2nd, following a run of two wins in 13 league games.

It remains to be seen if Edward Still would be able to become a long-term success at Vicarage Road, though, with it being a first full-time managerial role in English football and the well-documented nature of how Watford have operated under the ownership of the Pozzo family.