Watford join Derby County and Blackburn Rovers in Hull City transfer race | OneFootball

Watford have reportedly joined Derby County and Blackburn Rovers in the race to sign Hull City defender Cody Drameh.

Watford have reportedly become the latest club to show an interest in signing Hull City defender Cody Drameh this summer.

That's according to the Lancashire Evening Post, who claim that Watford have joined the likes of Derby County, Preston North End and Blackburn Rovers in what is becoming an increasingly competitive race for Drameh.

Drameh only joined Hull from Leeds United last summer, and he was a regular for much of last season, featuring at both right-back and left-back as the Tigers successfully managed to avoid relegation from the Championship, although he was plagued by a knee injury in the latter stages of the campaign.

The 23-year-old signed a three-year contract when he arrived at the MKM Stadium, with the Tigers also having the option to extend for a further year, but that has not stopped other clubs from making a move for him this summer, and his list of suitors appears to be increasing.

Watford set to battle Derby County and Blackburn Rovers for Hull City's Cody Drameh

Derby head coach John Eustace signed Drameh in the summer of 2023 during his time at Birmingham City, and as he looks to reunite with the defender at Pride Park, the Rams reportedly made a loan offer last month, which was rejected by Hull.

They are not the only club to have tabled a proposal for Drameh this summer, with Preston said to have made a bid to sign him on a permanent basis, but that was also turned down by the Tigers, who are holding firm on their valuation of £1 million.

It was initially thought that North End were preparing to come back with another offer for Drameh, but they have since signed two full-backs - Pol Valentin and Thierry Small - in what has been a busy start to the summer transfer window, and the Lancashire Evening Post claim that any move to Deepdale for the ex-Leeds man is now "looking unlikely".

However, that does not necessarily mean that Drameh will be remaining at the MKM Stadium as Derby are still circling, while Blackburn Rovers are also said to be keen on the defender, and he has now emerged on the radar of Watford.

The Hornets have already brought in three signings so far this summer in Nathan Baxter, Marc Bola and Hector Kyprianou as new manager Paulo Pezzolano wastes no time in getting to work on rebuilding his squad, and it seems they have now set their sights on Drameh.

Watford will face strong competition if they are to land Drameh's signature, and in addition to the English sides known to be keeping tabs on him, journalist Pete O'Rourke revealed that French duo Toulouse and Reims are also among his admirers, but the latter have since been relegated to Ligue 2, so that could have an impact on their transfer plans.

Hull City must take clear Cody Drameh transfer stance as interest grows

Having already knocked back two bids for Drameh this summer, it seems certain that Hull will have to fend off further approaches for their in-demand defender over the coming months.

Drameh played under two managers during his first season at the MKM Stadium, and a third is set to arrive shortly in the form of Sergej Jakirovic, so after a turbulent year with the Tigers, he may be keen to move on and make a fresh start in a more stable environment.

However, Hull will be determined to hold on to their best players this summer after seeing the damage that a host of high-profile exits did to them last season, so they should not be tempted to cash in on Drameh, unless they receive a bid that is too good to turn down.