Watford in negotiations to sign Hibernian player for six-figure fee | OneFootball

It's set to be rebuild time at Watford this summer following their failure to win immediate promotion back to the Premier League, but it won't just be the first-team squad that is added to over the next few months - it'll be their under-21's as well.

One thing Watford are good at is scouting young prospects from all over the globe, and that includes bringing them in from the United Kingdom as well with one of the most recent showings of that being when they snapped up Kwadwo Baah from Rochdale.

And according to The Athletic they are poised to add yet another talented teen to their ranks as they are in negotiations to bring Hibernian striker Ethan Laidlaw to Hertfordshire.

Laidlaw's Hibs contract expires very soon and despite being offered fresh terms at Easter Road, he is closing in on moving to Watford for a compensation fee of around £250,000.

Who is Ethan Laidlaw?

Laidlaw turned 18 back in January but despite being named as a substitute on a few occasions this past season, the youngster is yet to make his first-team bow for Hibs.

The forward, who can also play out wide as well as through the middle, is a Scotland under-18's international and played four times for Hibernian in the UEFA Youth League in 2022-23, scoring once in a 1-0 win over Nantes of France.

And as a 16-year-old, Laidlaw went on trial with Premier League giants Liverpool as well as Leeds United, with Chelsea and Manchester United both reported to be interested in his services at the time too.

Would Ethan Laidlaw be a good signing for Watford?

It's pretty much impossible to know as to whether Laidlaw would be a good fit for the Hornets considering it's very unlikely he'd be immediately thrust into the first-team picture.

You'd imagine that Watford would give the teenager time to adapt or even loan him out to a lower level to develop, but the fact he's been scouted by Premier League clubs as a youngster and been on trial with the likes of Liverpool suggests he has talent.

Not only that, but he's scored in the UEFA Youth League as well which has some of the best under-18's teams in the world, so there's clearly some pedigree there - whether he can develop into a good striker at Championship level in years to come though remains to be seen - for a six-figure fee however he is worth the gamble.