Tom Cleverly’s permanent reign as Watford manager kicked off in dramatic fashion on Saturday as the Hornets claimed a late win at Championship rivals Millwall.
After going two goals ahead after Edo Kayembe and Giorgi Chakvetadze both found the net, Cleverly’s men were pegged back by a brace from Millwall star Duncan Watmore. Watford would not be denied and they got their season off to a winning start when Mileta Rajovic grabbed an injury-time goal that ultimately decided the contest.
Cleverly handed starts to just one of his summer signings as former Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Moussa Sissoko marked his return to the club with a win. But what other business could the Hornets boss conduct over the remaining two weeks of the summer transfer window? We fired up Football Manager 2024, updated the Hornets squad to its present state and took a look at how the world’s most popular managerial simulation predicts the next fortnight could play out at Vicarage Road.
Goalkeepers
There was just the one addition to Cleverly’s goalkeeping ranks as he made a £500,000 move for Liverpool and England Under-20 stopper Harvey Davies.
Cleverly’s goalkeeping options: Bachmann, Bond, Davies.
Defenders
There were two departures from Cleverly’s defensive ranks as Fracisco Sierralta joined Parma in a £3.3m deal and Jeremy Ngakia moved to Championship rivals Bristol City after the Robins submitted a £1m offer for the full-back. Surprisingly there were no new signings at the back from Cleverly.
Cleverly’s defensive options: Porteous, Hoedt, Tikvic, Pollock, Almeida, Larouci, Morris, Andrews.
Midfielders
Now there are changes in midfield and some new additions. Firstly, former Manchester United star Cleverly returned to his old club to take highly-rated youngster Dean Gore on a season-long loan – although there is no option to convert that into a permanent switch in the future. Cleverly also brought in Standard Liege prospect Afonso N’Salambi on a free transfer and secured the services of in-demand free agent Steven Alzate following his departure from Brighton and Hove Albion.
Cleverly’s midfield options: Kayembe, Louza, Sissoko, Dele-Bashiru, Chakvetadze, Gore, N’Salambi, Alzate.
Forwards
The main departure in the attacking third was Yaser Asprilla as an £18m offer from Wolverhampton Wanderers saw the Colombia international heading to Molineux. Vakoun Bayo also departed as he joined Montpellier in a £3.9m deal. In their place came just the one new addition as Angolan striker Vivaldo Semedo trod the well worn path between Udinese and Watford to make a season-long loan move to Vicarage Road.
Cleverly’s forward options: Sema, Baah, Kalu, Ince, Vata, Rajovic, Cabezas, Doumbia, Semedo
Almeida (600,000 from Fluminense), Vata (£100,000 from Celtic), Sissoko (free transfer), Doumbia (undisclosed from Black Stars), Larouci (loan from Troyes), Tikvic (loan from Udinese), Bond (free transfer), Gore (loan from Manchester United), Semedo (loan from Udinese), N’Salambi (free from Standard Liege), Alzate (free transfer), Davies (£750,000 from Liverpool)
Outs – total received = £35m
Kone (£9m to Marseille), Fletcher (free transfer to Blackpool), Hamer (free transfer to Sheffield Wednesday), Livermore (released), Ngakia (£1m to Bristol City), Bayo (£3.9m to Montpellier), Sierralta (£3.3m to Parma), Asprilla (£18m to Wolves)
