Watford FC plot Feyenoord transfer swoop for Dirk Kuyt’s nephew | OneFootball

Watford are plotting a summer transfer move for a European youngster, who is a relative of former Liverpool favourite, Dirk Kuyt.

It was a hugely frustrating second-half of the 2025/26 season for Watford supporters to witness, as the Hornets struggled to build any sort of momentum.

They finished 16th in the Championship table, and lost their last five league matches, as well as being winless from tehir last eight, which makes for poor viewing.

Watford's season to forget resulted in them parting company with Ed Still in early May, which wasn't too surprising given the number of managers that the club have gone through in recent years.

The days of playing Premier League football will feel like a distant memory to plenty of the Vicarage Road faithful, and they'll be eager to see their side head in the right direction heading into the 2026/27 campaign.

It'll be an interesting summer ahead, and a new manager will be first on the club's agenda, before potentially giving them the funds to add much-needed quality and strength in depth during the summer transfer window.

Watford FC eyeing transfer move for Feyenoord youngster

Watford seemingly aren't letting a lack of first-team manager impact their transfer plans, as they've been linked with a Feyenoord youngster ahead of the transfer window reopening this summer.

Journalist Joost Blaauwhof of Voetbal International has reported that Watford are one of the clubs making enquiries into the availability of Jan Plug, who spent part of the 2025-26 season in the second tier of Dutch football with Dordrecht on loan.

The 21-year-old made 14 appearances for them after his mid-season move, as they finished tenth in the Dutch second tier - prior to that, he had featured eight times for Feyenoord before it was decided that the defender would spend the rest of the campaign away from Rotterdam.

It remains to be seen as to whether Plug has a future with Feyenoord, but he does have a contract at De Kuip until the summer of 2028.

Plug operates primarily as a centre-back, but can play at left-back and defensive midfield if required, and so he'd be a versatile option to have in the Watford squad if they signed him, and a potential successor to Man City loanee Stephen Mfuni.

Blaauwhof also claims that Austria Wien and Danish oufit Aarhus are also keen on a deal to sign Plug, so Watford would have to act fast to potentially secure an agreement to land his signature this summer.

Watford target Jan Plug has plenty of pedigree - ex-Liverpool star Dirk Kuyt is his uncle

Plug is certainly making a name for himself, and interest from the likes of Watford can certainly be seen as a compliment, and it'll be intriguing to see whether he's keen to make the step into English football, just like one of his relatives did during their own career.

The defender is the nephew of former Liverpool favourite, Dirk Kuyt, who made 285 appearances in total for the Reds, and chipped in with 71 goals and 40 assists in his time with the club.

Kuyt spent time with Feyenoord as a player himself, and won the Eredivisie title with them in the 2016/17 campaign. The Dutchman is now managing at Dordrecht, where he's been managing Plug in his loan spell.

Plug is contracted with Feyenoord for another two years, and so it could take a potentially sizeable offer to prize him away from the Dutch giants, who are unlikely to be in a rush to move him on.

Watford have only made enquiries at this stage, and so they'll be eagerly waiting to hear about the defender's availability ahead of the new season - and they of course need to hire Ed Still's successor as manager too.