Watford agree deal for ex-Leicester City midfielder - he could replace Imran Louza | OneFootball

The Senegal international will bring English experience to Vicarage Road.

Watford are set to sign midfielder Nampalys Mendy following the free agent's departure from RC Lens.

Centre-mid is one area of Paulo Pezzolano's squad that hasn't been added to recently. Not since the arrival of his first summer signing, Hector Kyprianou, have the Hornets bulked up their options in the middle of the park. That is now set to change with the arrival of Mendy.

The 33-year-old Senegalese international has agreed a deal with the Championship side to return to England, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Mendy joined Leicester City the summer after they won the Premier League as a hopeful replacement for N'Golo Kante. He was at the King Power Stadium for seven years before heading back to France to join Lens.

Watford set to sign ex-Leicester midfielder Nampalys Mendy

Romano added that Mendy will sign a one-year deal with Watford, and that a medical has been booked for Wednesday. The club will have an option to extend his stay by a further year as well.

Pezzolano has picked from a pretty consistent group of centre-mids in the opening few games of the new season. Three of Kyprianou, the captain, Moussa Sissoko, Imran Louza and Edo Kayembe have filled the starting spots in all of the league matches for the Uruguayan coach.

Mendy's arrival will mean that Watford have two 33-year-olds on their books, with Tom Ince being the other experienced midfield general. Sissoko, 36, also brings a boatload of experience to the first-team, which should provide even more balance to a team that is packed with young talent.

Louza, who was suspended for Watford's last match against Swansea City, is the subject of some transfer interest from Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow, as per L'Equipe. They are said to be in talks with the Hornets over a £5.2 million deal for the Moroccan, who has been with the club since the summer of 2021.

Nampalys Mendy arrival provides cover in case Imran Louza departs

One of their most consistent performers over recent seasons, the move for Mendy may be indicative that Louza, or another of Pezzolano's midfielders, could be on their way out of Vicarage Road before the end of the transfer window. The club has until 7pm on Monday, 1st September to submit the requisite paperwork to complete any sales or purchases.

The boss said, before their trip to Swansea, that his team could manage without the 26-year-old, whose late red card against Queens Park Rangers earned him a three-game suspension, the first of which was versus the Welsh side.

"We know the quality that Imran has, he's an important player for the team," Pezzolano told the club website's. "But we will try and play our game the same as always. We have other teammates who can do a really good job in that position."