Watford FC closing in on £2.6m transfer sale | OneFootball

The Hornets have decided to sell the striker after spending last season out on loan

Mileta Rajovic is set to leave Watford on a permanent transfer.

New manager Paulo Pezzolano has the task of taking the Hertfordshire outfit back towards the top of the Championship next season and has already added Marc Bola, Nathan Baxter, Hector Kyprianou and Vivaldo Semedo to his ranks.

The Hornets finished 14th last term, their third successive finish outside of the second-tier top 10, and significant changes are ongoing in a bid to put them back in the promotion picture.

Mileta Rajovic set for Watford transfer exit to Polish club

As per the Watford Observer, Mileta Rajovic will be heading out of the Vicarage Road exit door after two years, as part of Pezzolano's ever-changing squad plan.

The 25-year-old will join Polish side Legia Warsaw - who finished fifth in the Ekstraklasa last season - and the Hornets will receive €3 million (£2.6 million) for the striker, who arrived at the club for half that fee in 2023 from Kalmar in Sweden.

A contributor of 11 goals in his debut season at Watford in all competitions, Rajovic was their top scorer for 2023-24, and began the 2024/25 campaign in flying form, notching the winner on the opening day of the season in a 3-2 win at Millwall before bagging a brace against Plymouth in the EFL Cup.

That didn't last though, as the Dane was then sent on loan to Brondby for the rest of the season, scoring eight times in 28 appearances.

Despite Watford lacking striker options at the moment, with youngsters Vivaldo Semedo and Mamadou Doumbia the only real out-and-out centre-forwards Pezzolano can rely on, they are set to sanction the sale of Rajovic, which will make them healthy profit.

Mileta Rajovic sale makes good business sense but he may have had something still to offer at Watford FC

On the surface, Rajovic’s situation is a positive one for Watford.

They have doubled their money on a player brought in from overseas, which can often prove to be a risk.

Therefore, the recruitment team have done their job and ended up making the club profit.

However, Rajovic proved to be a good goalscorer during his short time in English football and was the Hornets’ most dangerous operator in-front in the 2023/24 campaign - even if his all-round game at times left a lot to be desired.

He continued to show his goalscoring prowess at the start of the following season, which made the decision to loan him out all the more confusing.

Then-boss Tom Cleverley cited that this was the best move for Rajovic’s development, but there were certainly moments during the year when the Hornets could’ve done with his expertise.

Although Watford have benefited financially from Rajovic’s sale, they have lost a guaranteed source of goals.