have announced that they have released 27 players after the club were relegated from the Premier League.
The Hornets made an immediate return to the Championship after a woeful season where they finished 19th in the table, 15 points from safety.
On Tuesday, the club released a statement confirming that four first-team players would be leaving Vicarage Road, namely goalkeeper Ben Foster, centre-back Nicolas Nkoulou, midfielder Juraj Kucka and striker Andre Gray.
While this is hardly out of the ordinary, Watford also revealed that 19 U23 and four U18 players were also being shown the exit door, resulting in 27 players in total leaving in the summer on a free.
Many of the names of the departures list will be unknown to many, with the notable exception of Maurizio Pochettino, the son of Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio.
The 21-year-old had previously been a part of Southampton and Tottenham’s academies while his father was managing there and the Spanish winger had only moved to Watford last summer.
It is perhaps unsurprising to see so many players depart Vicarage Road, as the club have become notorious for its merry-go-round-style of hiring and firing mangers, who in turn have built a mix-matched squad with different players suited to various styles of play.
This past season alone, Watford went through three managers, namely Xisco Munoz, Claudio Ranieri and Roy Hodgson who announced his departure and retirement shortly after the club’s relegation was confirmed.
Rob Edwards has been appointed as the new head coach following his impressive exploits with Forest Green Rovers where he guided the Green Army to the League Two title in 2022.
He will be given the task of re-shaping the, now much smaller, squad and will be expected to return the Hornets to the top-flight at the first time of asking.
More players are expected to leave Watford during the summer however, with star forwards Emmanuel Dennis and Ismaila Sarr among those being courted by Premier League clubs such as Crystal Palace and Everton.
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