Exclusive: Sky Sports pundit backs Anthony Joshua to "stabilise" Watford FC | OneFootball

The former heavyweight champion boxer is looking to invest in his local club.

Anthony Joshua investing in Watford FC would be "great" for the club, according to Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie.

The former heavyweight champion of the world recently revealed on the Seconds Out podcast that he is looking for new opportunities to invest the millions that he has earned so far in his boxing career.

The 35-year-old has already opened his sports investment portfolio. He is the part-owner of the Alpine Formula 1 Team, and he is now looking to go down a new avenue by becoming an owner of Watford, the local football club of where he grew up.

AJ admitted that he's not the biggest football fan around, but he said that he is in talks with the club over a deal that would get him on board at Vicarage Road.

Anthony Joshua investing in Watford should yield positive results

Watford's board have received a lot of criticism over the years for being too sack-happy, as was demonstrated on Tuesday by their decision to sack manager Tom Cleverley after the customary year in charge of the first-team that all of their bosses seem to get before being canned.

Hendrie hopes that getting involved at Watford would help to bring some more stability to the club as well as whatever portion of his estimated £175 million net worth that he might invest.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, he said: "Anthony Joshua has been linked with investing in Watford with his £175 million. Would it be a boost for the football club? Yes, I think so.

"The potential of an investor, and Joshua obviously sees potential in the football club, which it certainly has. It'd be great.

"I think there'd be a big buzz around the place. It would boost the football club, because they're a club that will be looking, I think, next season to be amongst the promotion race in the Championship.

"So anyone that comes in that's got plenty of money and has a drive to go forward will be a massive boost for the football club, if that is to happen. It'll maybe stabilise them a little bit better."

Anthony Joshua would bring huge financial benefits to Vicarage Road

The heavyweight will, of course, bring a lot of eyeballs to the club, in the way that Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have with Wrexham and the same with Tom Brady and Birmingham City. Having these globally recognised celebrities on board is evidently useful.

Watford would also benefit from AJ's pre-existing business associations.

He has massive sponsorship deals with brands like Under Armour, Beats by Dre and Hugo Boss. Sportskeeda estimates he's made £10 million from deals like these alone. He even has his own clothing brand:

If, as a member of the club's ownership, he can bring those sorts of names on board too, his impact will probably be larger than the sum of shares he acquires, just like Brady.