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The Hornets should be looking to secure a loan deal for Jay Stansfield, who proved his worth in the Championship last season.

Tom Cleverley will want his squad to be as strong as possible ahead of his first season as permanent Watford boss.

The Hornets have already been active in the transfer market, recruiting five players, but there may be more work to be done before the summer transfer window closes during the latter stages of next month.

In the goalkeeping area, they have two solid first-team options now and they also have quite a few centre-backs at their disposal.

They could benefit from adding another full-back or wing-back option, depending on where Ken Sema plays, but they may not need more central midfielders if Imran Louza remains at Vicarage Road.

If he does leave though, he will need to be replaced, with the Moroccan clearly a top-quality player who brings a lot to the team when he's on top form.

Watford need to add more attacking firepower to their squad

The Hornets could benefit from some more high-quality options in the final third.

Yaser Asprilla could be a real asset again next term if he stays put and new signings Rocco Vata and Mamadou Doumbia could add something different in attack, but the latter two are still young and may need some time to adapt to life at Vicarage Road.

Giorgi Chakvetadze and Tom Ince didn't register that many goals and assists between them last term and they don't have many threatening wing options.

Jack Grieves could become a regular first-teamer next term, but he will need time to adapt to playing regularly if he features heavily under Cleverley.

They will require more quality in the striker department too, with the likes of Vakoun Bayo and Mileta Rajovic needing more competition in this area to maximise performance levels.

A certain player from Fulham could provide the solution needed to sharpen up their attack.

Watford should look to win Jay Stansfield race

Jay Stansfield, who is currently with the Cottagers, spent last season on loan at Birmingham City and thrived there.

Scoring 13 goals in all competitions, he was able to make the step up to the second tier well, having previously spent time in League One with Exeter City.

The player may not have been able to keep Blues in the Championship, but he deserves another opportunity to shine in the second tier if Marco Silva doesn't decide to keep him with the first team.

Back in May, Silva claimed that Stansfield would remain at Craven Cottage for the 2024/25 campaign.

However, the striker has been the subject of plenty of speculation in recent weeks, with Birmingham, Cardiff CityHull City and Leeds United all thought to be admirers of him.

The Hornets should fancy their chances of getting a deal over the line for the player if they enter this race though.

Birmingham are now in the third tier, Cardiff is a less convenient location than Watford for the Cottager and the same could be said about Hull as well.

Leeds could be an attractive destination, considering they are likely to be competing for promotion during the upcoming campaign, but he isn't guaranteed to start regularly at Elland Road.

But if the striker makes loan a move to Hornets, he may not have to re-locate for the season and would probably be guaranteed regular starts at Vicarage Road.

Game time has to come first for a player who has plenty of potential, but needs as much time on the pitch as possible in his quest to develop.

Another season in the second tier, before potentially becoming a vital first-teamer at Craven Cottage, seems like the right path for Stansfield.

The Hornets would benefit from having such a talented forward at their disposal - and he should only get better throughout his loan spell if Cleverley's side enter the race for him.

The Cottagers have reportedly fielded a number of enquiries for the forward from second-tier sides - and it would be a surprise if the Hornets aren't one of those teams.