Watford FC may be thankful Middlesbrough beat them to transfer deal - here's why | OneFootball

The two Championship clubs battled for Kelechi Iheanacho in January, but the jury’s still out on who won

Middlesbrough and Watford FC spent the winter window battling over the signature of Kelechi Iheanacho.

The former Leicester City man struggled to make an impact for his new side Sevilla, after moving there on a free transfer from the Foxes in the summer.

He was seeking a loan move for the remainder of the season in January, and Boro were the ones to win that battle.

But the Hornets may not have too many regrets that they missed out.

Watford looked on track to land Iheanacho at one point

Reports from the likes of ABC in Spain gave the impression that Iheanacho was heading to Vicarage Road.

But late in the window, Middlesbrough swooped in to land Iheanacho on a temporary contract, following Emmanuel Latte Lath’s £22m move to MLS side Atalanta United.

It was something of a gut-punch for Watford, who are lacking an out-and-out goalscorer with only Vakoun Issouf Bayo on double figures in the Championship for Watford.

But given the start Iheanacho’s made in Middlesbrough, it might have been a blessing in disguise for the Hornets.

Iheanacho has had a difficult start in Middlesbrough

Given part of Iheanacho’s remit must have been to come in and replace the goals lost in Latte Lath, he has some work to do to get anywhere near the 11 strikes the Ivorian left before.

In Iheanacho’s first seven outings for Boro, including five starts, he has failed to score a single goal.

Across those showings, he’s managed a combined xG of just 0.56, with two shots on target meaning, worryingly, that he’s not missing his chances, he just isn’t finding any to begin with.

There may be some debate around whether that’s his fault or a team issue, but either way, he hasn’t managed to address what was lost in Latte Lath.

Watford may still wind up regretting the miss

It’s important to add here that, although the start for Iheanacho doesn’t look great, he has only made seven appearances for Michael Carrick’s side.

Given things clearly haven’t worked out for the Nigerian in La Liga, his contract with Sevilla will enter its final year this summer and they signed him on a free, he will likely be available on a cut-price deal.

Iheanacho is only 28 years old, so should just be entering his prime. Anyone who watched him for Leicester knows he’s capable of adding something to a Championship side; he even hit double figures in the Premier League in 2020/21 for Leicester.

There is, therefore, certainly a player in there somewhere for Boro to unlock.

If Carrick manages to find a way to get the best out of Iheanacho, and potentially lands him for a bargain price in the summer, then there is still plenty of time for this deal to become a source of regret for Watford.

As it stands now, however, viewing his poor start at the Riverside, the Hornets will certainly feel thankful that they didn’t plough resources into a striker that has delivered little return in the Championship so far.