Watford FC should swerve transfer bullet Sunderland dodged last summer | OneFootball

Alexandre Mendy has been linked with yet another potential Championship move

Watford are gearing up for their first season under the management of Paulo Pezzolano, and have made a handful of positive signings during his first weeks in charge at Vicarage Road.

The Hertfordshire club have already secured the services of Nathan Baxter, Hector Kyprianou and Marc Bola thus far, and have also received the welcome bonus of an extra £4m sum after former Brazilian striker and fan favourite, Joao Pedro, was sold by Brighton and Hove Albion to Chelsea for £50m, with the Hornets banking 20 percent of the profit made on his initial £35m departure in 2023.

Since returning to the Championship in 2022 after one season back in the Premier League, Watford have failed to trouble the sides competing for a spot in the play-off places, never mind those fighting it out to secure automatic promotion, which is a feat the Pozzo family will hope changes after yet another managerial switch.

One area of the squad which Pezzolano and his recruitment team clearly believe needs addressing is the striking department, with recent reports suggesting that the Hornets would rival newly-promoted Wrexham for Danny Ings' signature following his exit from West Ham, as well as claims that a deal to sign 20-year-old forward, Vivaldo Semedo, has been hijacked by French giants, Lille.

Another striker plying his trade in France linked with a switch to Vicarage Road comes in the form of SC Caen man, Alexandre Mendy, who previously appeared on the radar of Sunderland prior to their promotion-winning season.

The 31-year-old was the subject of multiple bids put on the table by the Black Cats following Regis Le Bris' appointment - all of which would prove to be unsuccessful.

It's not hard to see why, at the time, the Caen board blocked any pursuits by the North East side, given the fact he'd found the back of the net 22 times in 37 games during the 2023/24 campaign.

However, following the denial of a move to the Stadium of Light, the seven-time Guinea-Bissau international admitted that it continued to play on his mind whilst the Normandy-based side's plight towards the third-tier of French football continued.

“The after-effects of what was said, what happened in the past and also everything to do with my family: having packed my bags, having thought about going elsewhere, all those things," he told France Bleu in April.

“That will go away with time, but today I feel good on the pitch. The furniture has gone up but the boxes haven’t been unpacked yet. It’s taking a long time, there are a lot of boxes to unpack. We haven’t got the time yet, we’re concentrating on the football and when there’s the next break we’ll unpack everything.”

Caen ended the Ligue 2 campaign rock-bottom with just five wins and 22 points accumulated, with Mendy scoring eight times in 30 appearances. Following their relegation, it has been reported that the Hornets have made contact with the forward's representatives amid competition from Montpellier.

Watford FC should look to swerve Alexandre Mendy deal despite Ligue 1 competition

Whilst links to both Watford and the Ligue 1 club highlight Mendy's goalscoring nous, with an overall tally of 72 goals in 182 games in the French second tier, it may not represent smart business for Pezzolano.

After experiencing a major dip in form at the age of 31, it remains to be seen whether he will hit the heights of the 2023/24 season again, although such an occurrence cannot be entirely ruled out if he was able to put his past transfer situation behind him.

However, it is clear that Watford are also looking at younger targets, and whilst it will come as a huge blow to see the aforementioned Semedo close in on a move to Lille, it represents the type of striker which the club should be targeting, as there is the potential for immediate on-pitch contributions and growth, which so often allows for greater resale value in order to aid rebuilding projects or transfer swoops.