Watford only need to look back one year for January deal they must emulate | OneFootball

Watford will want to try to emulate last year's January coup of Giorgi Chakvetadze in the upcoming window.

After bringing in relatively unknown Georgian winger Giorgi Chakvetadze on loan from Gent in the summer of 2023, Watford decided that the chance to sign the wide forward permanently was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

By the January transfer window of his year-long loan deal, Watford had already taken up the chance to sign him permanently, securing his services for a fee reported to be around £2.5 million.

With a fresh winter window fast approaching, Watford only need to look back one year to see the potential steals available on the market, as their Georgian talisman has continued to impress in his first year and a half at Vicarage Road.

Giorgi Chakvetadze has featured a lot at Watford

Chakvetadze has been a regular presence in the Watford side since his arrival. In his first season with the club, he racked up 34 appearances, with 14 of those coming in the starting XI - with his versatility proving useful.

Despite only starting the aforementioned 14 games last season, the Georgian international managed to create 56 chances for Watford, as well as retaining a pass accuracy of 84.1%. He also completed 37 successful dribbles in this time, meaning he averaged more than 1 per game despite most of his minutes coming from the bench.

In spite of his technical ability, the wide man only managed one goal last season and provided three assists. Shooting was an area in which the player lacked quality, as he only generated 1.75 xGOT from 28 shots.

Nevertheless, manager Tom Cleverley evidently sees the player's capabilities in other areas of his games, as Chakvetadze has started all 15 of Watford's games this term, already matching last season's tally for goals and assists in the process.

Watford and Giorgi Chakvetadze are beginning to make a strong push for the play-offs

Despite a disappointing 1-0 defeat away to Swansea City on 5th November, Cleverley's Watford are currently making a promising push towards securing a play-off spot, and bounced back with a 1-0 victory against Oxford United. The Hornets have won eight out of 15 games and sit in sixth place with 25 points - Chakvetadze has been a key player.

Cleverley stated before the season that he was hoping to see the best from Chakvetadze, and he certainly seems to be impressing his manager with his performances so far.

Speaking to BBC Three Counties Radio before the season began, Cleverley commented on the Georgian winger, saying: "He's a player that I like - he's intelligent, good positional awareness, good quality on the ball and it's my job to add goals and assists to those strong parts of his game."

Although direct goal contributions have eluded Chakvetadze at times, his quality has been unanimously recognised by fans and pundits alike.

The player's chance creation has been most notable. He ranks third for chances created and expected assists, while also completing almost two dribbles per 90 minutes. If Watford's attackers were able to more efficiently convert their chances, Chakvetadze's base statistics would paint a very different picture this season.

In response to his red-hot form, there have been links reported by The Sun stating that Wolves are lining up a £20 million move for the winger. This is testament to his capabilities, as is the recently penned new five-year deal with the Hornets, keeping him at the club until 2029. It is evident that Cleverley is desperate to keep Chakvetadze at Vicarage Road, and losing him would be a great detriment to Watford's promotion hopes.

If Watford are to keep their ambitions alive, a coup similar in stature to the signing of Chakvetadze (alongside retaining him) could be critical. However, it would appear to be required in defence rather than attack. Watford have conceded 22 goals in the league in 2024/25, 11 more than table-toppers Sunderland and 15 more than third-place Sheffield United.

The Georgian and his attacking colleagues have done their job well by scoring 22 goals, but their defensive teammates have a lot of work to do if they are to consolidate their recent form. With recruitment and reinforcements evidently crucial for Watford in January, Cleverly will be hoping for another steal after finalising Chakvetadze's bargain deal less than a year prior.