Watford's 3 most underwhelming signings from the last 10 years - Where are they now? | OneFootball

When you look at Watford's 2022/23 campaign, it is hard not to be underwhelmed.

Despite having some star players at Championship level, with the likes of Joao Pedro and Ismaila Sarr in their side, the Hornets could only manage an 11th place finish in the second tier.

With Joao Pedro soon to join Brighton, and Sarr also likely to leave, the club will likely be busy in the transfer market this summer as they look to back new head coach Valerien Ismael.

Recruitment has not always been spot on at Vicarage Road, though, as we will discuss below.

Indeed, in the last 10 years, there have been some rather underwhelming signings made.

Here, we've picked out three of them, and discussed where they are at now.

Adalberto Penaranda

One player that certainly underwhelmed during their time as a Watford player was Adalberto Penaranda.

The Venezuelan signed for the club in 2016 and there was plenty of hype about him at the time.

Tipped as a player with big potential, he was forced to undergo several loans before he could gain a work permit to play for the Hornets.

When he did arrive, he failed to live up to the hype, and only went on to play four times for the club.

These days, Penaranda is on the books at Portuguese side Boavista after joining them last summer, although not for long, with his contract set to be terminated soon, having failed to make a single appearance for the club.

Obbi Oulare

Obbi Oulare was another Watford signing in the last decade to underwhelm following his arrival at the club.

The Belgian joined the Hornets for a decent fee ahead of their Premier League return in 2015/16, but, proved to be a waste of funds.

Still young at the time, the Belgian forward went on to appear just three times for the club.

Still just 27-years-old these days, Oulare plays for RWD Molenbeek, in Belgium, where he has been on loan from League One side Barnsley since January 2022.

Andre Gray

Last but not least, Andre Gray is the another one of the most underwhelming Watford signings from the last decade.

Gray joined from Burnley in the summer of 2017, but with a reported club-record fee (at the time) of £18.5 million paid for him, he never proved worth the cost.

Compared to the others on this list, Gray's contribution at Vicarage Road was huge, making 125 club appearances and scoring 21 goals.

However, when you pay a club record fee for a striker, and make them one of your highest earners, you expect much more than Gray offered in yellow.

These days, after a spell at QPR last season on loan from Watford, he plays for Greek side Aris Saloniki, whom he joined on a free transfer last summer following his Watford release.