Preston North End man could be ideal first Watford signing for Valerien Ismael: Opinion | OneFootball

Watford didn't wait long whatsoever for Chris Wilder to manage his last match for the club before announcing his successor, with Valerien Ismael confirmed as the new man in the dugout at Vicarage Road for next season.

How long he will last is anyone's guess, but Wilder's seat at the training ground will have barely gotten cold again before Ismael was confirmed as the new head coach on Wednesday, just two days after the former signed off with a victory over Stoke City.

You'd imagine that there is set to be a big rebuild at the Hornets considering the disappointment of finishing six points adrift of the Championship play-off spots - Joao Pedro is off to Brighton, Ismaila Sarr will probably leave and players such as Dan Gosling, Tom Cleverley and Craig Cathcart have expiring contracts.

There needs to be a new mix of talents ready to come in and make Watford a promotion-chasing team, and if Ismael goes back to his successful system at Barnsley, which was a 3-4-3, then he may need to add to his midfield.

Ismael played a midfield duo at the Tykes in which Alex Mowatt, a creative left-footer, was key to creating chances when they didn't go direct and also when chances fell to him around the 18-yard box.

Watford have a couple of midfielders in their squad such as Imran Louza and Yaser Asprilla but we do not know if either will be at the club next season, so Ismael needs to be scouring the transfer market - perhaps for some Championship experience - in that area.

And step forward Preston North End's Daniel Johnson, who could be the man to potentially replicate the aforementioned Mowatt in Ismael's system.

How has Daniel Johnson played for Preston North End recently?

Johnson's eight-year tenure at Deepdale could be coming to an end this summer - he is out of contract and believed to be one of the highest earners at the club, so it wouldn't be a shock to see him offered reduced terms and then depart.

The 2022-23 season wasn't one of Johnson's best in terms of how the stats read, with just one goal and three assists in 34 appearances in the Championship, but for much of the season he wasn't starting matches with regularity, with Ryan Lowe opting for other players in the engine room.

In the final few months of the campaign however, the Jamaica international came back into the fold and showed the Johnson of old to an extent - his best Championship season however came three years ago with 12 goals and seven assists.

If he can rediscover that kind of goal contributing form, which is perfectly plausible in a more attack-minded and creative team, then Johnson would be a good signing for the majority of Championship clubs.

Would Daniel Johnson sign for Watford?

The Hornets are able to offer a bigger wage than North End, and that is just one potential plus-point as to why he may move to Vicarage Road.

Born in Jamaica, Johnson grew up in London and played for Crystal Palace's academy, so a move back closer to the capital of England might tempt him, although he does have a young family to think about potentially uprooting.

And on paper, Watford will always have a better chance of winning promotion than North End do, and at the of 30 now a crack at the Premier League for the first time ever will be really tempting.

Despite his goals and assist contributions being on the low side this season, you can expect significant Championship interest in Johnson, and Watford would probably be foolish to not be in that race.