Watford leading Sevilla in transfer race for top-flight player | OneFootball

Watford are leading the race to sign goalkeeper Ricardo Velho from Farense in the summer transfer window.

That's according to a report from Portuguese outlet Record, via Sport Witness, who say the 25-year-old is also attracting interest from Sevilla.

Velho joined Farense back in the summer of 2020, signing from Braga's B-team. Since then, the goalkeeper has gone on to make 70 appearances in all competitions for his current club.

Having been part of their promotion-winning team last season, the 25-year-old has been a regular feature during the current campaign, helping them to tenth spot in the current top-flight standings.

Now it seems as though his contributions are starting to attract attention from elsewhere in Europe.

Watford in race to sign Portuguese goalkeeper

According to this latest update, Watford are currently at the front of the queue to sign Velho this summer.

It is claimed that La Liga side Sevilla are also keen on a move for the 25-year-old. There is apparently a €10million release clause in Velho's contract, which is set to expire at the end of next season.

Consequently, the report suggests it will take a sizeable to secure the services of the goalkeeper during the upcoming summer window.

That is said to be a potential problem for Sevilla, given the financial difficulty the Spanish side currently find themselves in.

As a result, the door may be open for Watford to make their move. However, it is reported that Farense are so far yet to receive any offers for Velho as we approach the summer window.

Watford moving into a new era

With their Championship status for next season now confirmed, the Hornets can start to their plans in place for next season.

Indeed, they have already started to do that to some extent. Earlier this week, it was announced that Tom Cleverley has now been appointed as the club's permanent first-team manager.

That comes after a spell in interim charge of Watford following the sacking of Valerien Ismael last month.

The Hornets are next in action on Saturday afternoon, when they host Sunderland at Vicarage Road in their final home game of the campaign.

Farense goalkeeper an interesting target for Watford

Velho does seem to be an intriguing option for Cleverley's side to be considering heading into the summer window.

As club captain and with a long-term contract under his belt, Daniel Bachmann looks to be well established as first choice between the posts at Vicarage Road for some time to come.

Admittedly, Ben Hamer is out of contract at the end of this season, so Watford may need to bring in some back-up to the Austrian for the coming campaign.

However, €10million feels like it would be a lot of money to pay for a back-up goalkeeper, especially one who has no experience of English football, and who is only in his first season as a top-flight player in Portugal.

That would therefore seemingly make this a bit of a gamble from both a footballing and financial point of view for the Hornets.

So with that in mind, it could arguably be something of a strange move for Watford to try and bring Velho to Vicarage Road for next season, if it is to be in these circumstances.