Watford set for surprise reunion with former player as transfer reportedly agreed | OneFootball

Watford are set for a surprise reunion with former academy graduate Britt Assombalonga, reports have suggested.

Indeed, that is according to journalist Salim Manav, who reports that the English forward has agreed a deal with the Hornets after his contract with Adana Demirspor came to an end.

The Turkish club confirmed this morning that the 30-year-old’s contract had been terminated by mutual consent.

Assombalonga came through the Watford academy and made his senior debut for the Hornets during the 2011/12 campaign.

The forward appeared four times for the club that season, and they would be his last appearances for the club, with a permanent switch to Peterborough United coming in 2013 after a loan spell at Southend in 2012/13.

After scoring 33 goals in 58 appearances for Posh, Assombalonga earned a move to Nottingham Forest, going on to spend three seasons at the City Ground, again, having a decent return of 30 goals in 69 appearances.

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A move to Middlesbrough followed in 2017, with Assombalonga going on to make 161 appearances during his time at the Riverside Stadium and notch 47 club goals before moving to Turkey in 2021.

For Turkish outfit Adana Demirspor, Assombalonga has scored 18 goals in 54 appearances.

The Verdict

This is certainly a move that has seemingly came out of nowhere.

With that said, it’s hard to know quite what to make of it.

With Watford already having Keinan Davis and Henrique Araujo on the books, and Vakoun Bayo in reserve, one assumes Assombalonga will very much be playing a back up/squad role, perhaps challenging Bayo for the third choice spot.

With his time in Turkey naturally taking him out of the eye, it’s going to be interesting to see what the forward can still do in the Championship.

At 30-years-old, he’s far from finished, and it’ll be interesting to see what he adds to this Watford side.