Watford at risk of late transfer blow? Newcastle United & Brentford join Burnley in pursuit | OneFootball

Mamadou Doumbia has caught the eye of top flight sides with his progress at Vicarage Road

Newcastle United and Brentford have reportedly joined Burnley in the race to sign Watford FC's Malian forward, Mamadou Doumbia.

That is according to Africa Foot, with there now just over one week until the current winter transfer window closes for business at 7PM on Monday, February 2nd.

The Hornets have endured an extremely mixed Championship season thus far, but due to the continued congested nature of the second tier table throughout the campaign, Javi Gracia's side are still firmly in the mix for a first play-off place since their most recent relegation from the Premier League in the summer of 2022.

After Paulo Pezzolano's reign at Vicarage Road was cut short by the Pozzo family in early October, the Hertfordshire side had enjoyed a strong resurgence up the table under the aforementioned Gracia, who returned to the club for his second spell in charge, some six years after he was initially dismissed by the Hornets' controversial Italian ownership.

Watford are also in a completely different position to the club which the Spaniard had previously departed in September 2019, with the Hornets suffering a first relegation back to the Championship for five years at the end of that particular campaign, and they have since been promoted and relegated at the first time of asking, before failing to mount any kind of sustained promotion bid in the past four years in which they have resided back in the EFL.

That is until now, though, as, despite suffering four games without a win in all competitions - including back-to-back draws against lowly Portsmouth and Blackburn Rovers most recently - the Yellows are just one point outside the top six with a game in hand, which comes away at Hull City next Tuesday.

Not much activity has occurred within the past month in terms of transfers at Vicarage Road, both in terms of incomings and outgoings, albeit both Caleb Wiley and Max Alleyne have returned to Premier League giants Chelsea and Manchester City, respectively, after their loan spells were terminated ahead of schedule.

However, with a matter of days to go until business is finalised between now and the end of the season, speculation has resurfaced over Doumbia's potential future with Watford, as two further top flight sides look to potentially strike a deal for the 19-year-old.

Newcastle United and Brentford join Burnley in transfer race for Watford FC starlet Mamadou Doumbia

Indeed, Doumbia has been the subject of transfer speculation at various points of the season, with the Malian heavily linked with a switch to Turf Moor in the summer window following the Clarets' immediate return to the Premier League under the management of Scott Parker.

However, the man who scored against the East Lancashire side in a crucial 2-1 success for Burnley last April as they eventually sealed automatic promotion with an accumulation of 100 points alongside Leeds United, would not be moving to the North West on this particular occasion, as the Hornets stood firm against the Clarets' reported £10m offer, as they looked to tie down the exciting prospect to a new contract.

Doumbia, himself, has been on the books of Watford since February 2024, during the short-term reign of current Blackburn Rovers head coach, Valerien Ismael.

The teenage striker penned a six-year contract that became active at the beginning of last season after the Hornets agreed an initial deal with Black Stars FC.

Since then, the player who starred at the Under-17s African Cup of Nations beforehand has become a regular fixture in the Watford lineup under Tom Cleverley, Pezzolano and now Gracia.

He has made 40 appearances for the club in the past 18 months, scoring five times, with three of those coming this season, and the most recent of those coming in the 1-1 draw with Portsmouth last week.

Despite having just over four years left on his contract, it is now being reported that Newcastle and Brentford have joined the Clarets in the race for the five-time senior Mali international.

Africa Foot state that the Magpies have emerged as the current front-runners whilst, like the Bees, viewing Doumbia as a player for the future, and that they are expected to advance talks in the coming weeks.

The Geordies' aforementioned stance on a move for Doumbia may also come as little surprise, with Eddie Howe issuing an honest transfer revelation following his side's 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.

"We have our strategy. PSR is controlling what we are able to do (in the transfer window)," he said.

"I think we understand that gives us limited room to maneuver to try to bring a player in that's good enough to elevate the group and have a long-term future at the football club with the finances we have."

The North East side have developed a recent reputation for signing young talents who are then able to grow into first-team regulars, and Doumbia could certainly fit that bill.