2013 reunion proved a huge moneymaker for Watford: View | OneFootball

Britt Assombalonga was a product of the Watford academy, and spent two separate spells with the Hornets throughout his impressive career.

The Congo international was signed by the club at 17 years old, and impressed as a youngster before finally making his debut with the club in 2012, in a 2-2 draw against Coventry City.

Assombalonga went on to play just four times for the club, amid a string of loan moves all over the country as they tried to get the striker as much experience on the pitch as they could.

He did sign a new deal with the club in 2013 after returning to the club following a loan spell. While this reunion did not provide him time on the pitch, it allowed the club to make a profit on the striker.

Eventually, with no first-team football at Vicarage Road in sight for the forward, Watford made the choice to sell him to Peterborough United, although the deal would be worth a lot more than the club first thought.

Assombalonga was sold to Peterborough in 2013

After loan moves to Wealdstone, Braintree and Southend United proved a good jumping off point, Assombalonga achieved a permanent transfer to Peterborough United in the summer of 2013.

He scored 15 times for Southend in League Two during his time on loan there, and the Posh signing him on a £1.1 million deal in hopes he could make the step-up to League One.

The then-21-year-old did just that, netting 33 times in 58 matches in the third tier as he helped Peterborough finish sixth in the league, although they lost in the play-off semi-finals to Leyton Orient.

His move to Nottingham Forest proved a big moneymaker for Watford

After impressing in League One for Peterborough, Assombalonga secured a move to Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2014.

In the deal for his move to Peterborough included a sell-on clause.

This isn't unusual in football, as it allows the buying club to sign a player for cheaper, but with a promise that the selling club will receive a percentage of any future sales involving the player.

Reports claim that the Hornets agreed a 50% sell-on clause for the player, which landed them a bigger windfall than they may have expected.

When Assombalonga was transferred to Nottingham Forest in 2014, the fee was reported to be £4.5 million rising to £8 million if all the player's targets were met.

According to reports, this netted the Hornets a £2.15 million fee for the striker, in addition to the £1.1 million that the Posh paid for his signature in the first place.

For a player with just four first-team games at the club, Watford must have been delighted to receive such a huge fee for someone who didn't look likely to break into their team.

While the club may have preferred to have a player who has been a consistent striker at Championship level for years, there is no telling that he would have developed the same way had he stayed and fought for his chance at the club.

Given the lack of stability at the club due to the managerial merry-go-round they have become famous for, there are no guarantees that Assombalonga would have been afforded any time to bed into the club and make a name for himself in the first team.

It looks as if the move away was the best thing for him. The Congo forward went on to play 69 games for Forest, netting 30 goals in an impressive spell at the club. This earned him a move to Middlesbrough for £14 million, where he played over 160 times in a four year.

The striker returned to Watford in 2023, although he was not the player he once was. While they missed out on having him in his prime, the Hornets will be happy with the money they made off the forward when he made his move to Forest in 2014.