Watford set to swoop for late Udinese deal with medical booked | OneFootball

Festy Ebosele is due for a medical with the Hornets

Udinese right-back Festy Ebosele is set for a medical ahead of a move to Watford.

Tom Cleverley is aiming to bolster his defensive ranks for 2024/25 after an impressive start to the campaign.

Watford move for Festy Ebosele

A fresh report from The Athletic states that the Hornets are hoping to finalise a move for Ebosele from their Italian sister club Udinese, and he is due to travel for a medical today, but it is unclear whether the move will be a loan or a permanent switch.

DiMarzio reporter Luca Bendoni initially claimed this morning that the Republic of Ireland international could be a last-minute opportunity for the Hornets on a 'family-deal' from Udinese, and the move now looks to have progressed.

Ebosele has been with the Serie A side since joining from Derby County in 2022, and has made 50 appearances for I Bianconeri, across the last two seasons, so it would come as somewhat of a shock to see him move to Vicarage Road so late in the window, from a playing point of view - the two clubs have the Pozzo crossover that does mean nothing is off the table.

Ebosele has Championship experience

While Ebosele may have been plying his trade in Italy for the last two years, he is no stranger to English football, and particularly not the Championship, due to his time with the Rams.

He moved to the East Midlands in 2018 after coming through the ranks at Bray Wanderers in his native Ireland, and made his professional Derby debut in January 2021, before going on to become a regular in the 2021/22 campaign under Wayne Rooney.

The versatile full-back impressed in his first full season at senior level, but was unable to help the Rams avoid relegation to League One and soon made the move to Udinese on a five-year contract starting in the summer of 2022, with Derby unable to offer him new contract terms due to EFL restrictions.

He struggled for game-time upon arrival in Northern Italy but forced his way into the team towards the end of his debut campaign, and has been a near ever-present in the last 12 months as the club finished 15th in Serie A in 2023/24.

Ebosele would be a coup for Watford

The Pozzo family links between Watford and Udinese have been well-publicised in recent times, and this particular deal would certainly benefit the Hornets after Ebosele's impressive showings in Italy's top-flight.

So far this summer, both Antonio Tikvic and Vakoun Bayo have made respective moves between the two clubs, and so it would likely come as no surprise if Ebosele became the third to do so, albeit it would be definitely be somewhat of a coup for Tom Cleverley's side.

Ebosele ranks highly on numerous attacking metrics when compared to other Serie A full-backs using FBref, and so would suit the new Watford boss' playing style very well, which encourages full-backs to get forward.

The 22-year-old would undoubtedly be an upgrade to Jeremy Ngakia and Ryan Andrews if he does sign, so Watford fans can continue to be excited about their good start to the season with his arrival likely to be confirmed soon.