Giorgi Chakvetadze transfer concern raised as Wolves eye Watford FC star | OneFootball

FLW's resident Watford fan pundit is concerned that Giorgi Chakvetadze could leave the club in January

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Watford have been urged to retain the services of Giorgi Chakvetadze beyond the January transfer window, where interest appears likely to be generated.

After one third of the 2024/25 Championship campaign, the Hornets have managed to maintain an electric start and are the current occupants of the final top-six spot heading into November's international break, having won three of their last four league matches.

They pressed pause on the league campaign on winning ways by defeating Oxford United at Vicarage Road on Friday evening, with Vakoun Bayo securing all three points by netting his fifth league goal in the last four matches. Watford's form has doubtless emerged as a significant surprise, mind you, given the Hornets were widely tipped to struggle towards the wrong end of the division under Tom Cleverley this season.

But Cleverley has managed to get this squad punching above its weight by competing for play-off contention, and a driving force behind their relative early-season success is the performances of Chakevtadze, who has enjoyed a new lease of life in Hertfordshire thus far this term.

Wolves' transfer interest in Watford's in-form Giorgi Chakvetadze

The Georgian international playmaker displayed signs of real promise during his maiden campaign at Watford but has gone up to another level this time around, cementing his reputation as one of the most talented creative midfielders across the Championship.

Although Chakvetadze has just one goal and three assists under his stat-line after 15 appearances, which have all been starts, his creative and intelligent passing coupled with exquisite ball-carrying has offered a new dimension to a fluid Watford attack.

Both the quality and the consistency of his performances are likely to earn him interest in January, though, and Wolves are already believed to be suitors. That's according to a report from The Sun, which claimed last month that Wolves scouts have watched Chakvetadze in action and the playmaker has been shortlisted as a target for the top-flight strugglers.

As per the report, Watford are holding out for up to £20 million for Chakvetadze, who put pen to paper on a new five-year contract only in September in what now appears an extremely shrewd and savvy exercise to drive a harder bargain for his services, although it was also added that other undisclosed Premier League clubs share an interest.

Watford urged to retain Giorgi Chakvetadze in January transfer window

We asked our resident Watford fan pundit, Justin Beattie, to name one concern he has ahead of the January transfer window and he admitted to the worry of potentially losing Chakvetadze, a scenario which simply must be avoided mid-season.

Watford are in a rich vein of form at this moment in time and have surprised many by staying in and around the top-six for this long, but their hopes of continuing that would be dashed if they were to lose a player of Chakvetadze's quality.

"My one concern I've got ahead of the January transfer window is whether we can hang on to Giorgi Chakvetadze," Justin explained to Football League World.

"He has signed a new contract, which should put his price tag up significantly, but I can imagine teams will be looking at him in January. There are already rumours of Wolves circling around, so I think my main concern in January is that we keep Chakvetadze.