Watford player set for deadline day switch to top-flight Portuguese club | OneFootball

Watford have released Venezuelan forward Adalberto Penaranda.

That is according to journalist Pedro Sepulveda, via Twitter, who reports that the 25-year-old will now join Portuguese Primeira Liga side Boavista on a three-year deal.

Sepulveda states that the Hornets have released the 25-year-old without any financial compensation.

Adalberto Penaranda joined Watford in February 2016 and was said to be a very highly-rated and exciting prospect at the time.

Unable to get a work permit, though, Penaranda had loan spells with the likes of Granada, Udinese, and Malaga before eventually making his Hornets debut in the 2018/19 season.

Unfortunately, the Venezuelan international would only go on to make four appearances for the Hornets, who once again loaned him out three more times due to being surplus to requirements.

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This summer, Penaranda has remained on the books at Vicarage Road but has been nowhere to be seen among the Watford squad or in training ahead of or during the Championship campaign, which suggested that an exit was inevitable.

The Verdict

This is absolutely the right decision from Watford.

They will have made money from the various loan spells Penaranda has been out on, but cutting ties for good is a sensible move at this stage.

It saves Watford paying his wages for the final year of his contract, and also gives the player a fresh start elsewhere.

It would be fair to say that things did not work out how Watford fans hoped when Penaranda first inked terms with the club, but perhaps in Portugal he can somewhat resurrect his career and start to fulfil some of the big potential he had when emerging as a youngster.