When the transfer window opened on 1st January 2025, Watford suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Queens Park Rangers. This saw them slip down to eighth place in the table but fans will have been hopeful that a strong January transfer window could see the Hornets return to the top six. Did the Hornets faithful get their wish though? That is the question we will be asking here as we take a look at every player to join, and leave, Vicarage Road.
Ins
Selvik secured ✔️
Welcome to Watford, Egil! pic.twitter.com/BT6DzX9Pgs
— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) January 31, 2025
Although Watford did not spend much money at all in the transfer window, they were able to bring in three new players. Two of these, rather unsurprisingly, came from Udinese, a source of many Watford players over the years thanks to both clubs both being owned by the Pozzo family.
James Abankwah (Defender) – Loan
Young defender Abankwah will be hoping his second stint in English football proves better than the first. Udinese sent the Irishman on loan to Charlton Athletic last season but he only saw 201 minutes of action before his loan was terminated. Despite not being deemed good enough for League One that year, the 21-year-old has already enjoyed more minutes for Watford than he did for Charlton. In this time he has put in a mixed bag of performances and the jury remains out if he’ll be a decent addition to the backline.
Egil Selvik (Goalkeeper) – Undisclosed Fee
A slightly strange transfer this one as Selvik moved from Norwegian side Haugesund to Udinese on 10th January, only to head to Watford three weeks later on a permanent deal. Watford were smart to recruit a new goalkeeper given Daniel Bachmann faces a lengthy spell out on the sidelines. Tom Cleverley decided to keep him on the bench against Norwich on 1st February but the expectation is that he will take the place of Jonathan Bond, as he is a man with a lot of ability. He already has four caps for Norway and his commanding presence will see him challenge Bachmann for the number one spot.
Caleb Wiley (Left Back) – Loan
An interesting pick-up as left-back Wiley is someone Chelsea paid £8.5m to sign just a matter of months ago. The Londoners quickly loaned him out to Strasbourg but he struggled to see much action in Ligue 1, playing just 266 minutes, partly due to injuries. It was hoped that dropping down to the Championship might see the USA international enjoy some more time on the pitch. He will have to wait for these though as he arrived at Vicarage Road still injured and is unlikely to return until late February/early March. He may well prove useful when fit but it is frustrating that he faces such a wait until a possible debut.
Outs
Five players waved goodbye to Watford this season (either temporarily or permanently) while one more briefly returned just to secure another loan deal.
Ken Sema (Midfielder) – Mutual Termination
Sweden’s Ken Sema has long been a fan favourite at Vicarage Road since he first joined the club in 2018. A total of 176 appearances later, and having “lived his dream” the 31-year-old decided to mutually part ways with the club, enabling him to sign for Cyrpus-based Pafos FC. While it is sad to see such a popular figure leave, it seemed in the interests of both parties. Sema felt it was the right time to depart the club he loves so much and Watford were able to shift a player that was increasingly surplus to requirement.
Ryan Porteous (Defender) – Loan
Slightly unusual to see a player with 18 league starts loaned out mid-season to a side very close in the table but that is what happened here. Presumably not rated much by Cleverley (and indeed by a sizeable portion of the fan base), Watford were happy for him to leave and Preston were happy to take him on. Interestingly, speaking to his new club, the Scottish international seemed to throw shade at the Hornets by saying he needs a “healthy environment”, suggesting he was not experiencing one before.
Daniel Jebbison (Forward) – End of Loan
With Bournemouth short on strikers following the serious injury sustained by Evanlison, the Cherries opted to recall Jebbison from his Watford loan. This was possibly the highlight of the window for most of the Hornets faithful who were glad to see the back of the 21-year-old. He was an incredibly underwhelming addition at Vicarage Road, failing to score across 13 appearances and rarely looking like he could offer anything useful to the team.
Festy Ebosele (Defender) – End of Loan
With suitors interested in signing Ebosele on a permanent deal, Udinese recalled him from his Watford loan so they could sell him to Istanbul Basaksehir. This is not seen as a significant loss to the Hornets as the full-back had not started a game since November’s win over Bristol City. Although physically impressive, he often showed limitations when it came to his ability on the ball and there were questions about his attitude. Needless to say, his brief stint in Hertfordshire will be quickly forgotten with this yet another poor Udinese-based deal.
Antonio Tikvić (Defender) – Loan
A logical outgoing for a player who only made three appearances (two as a substitute) across competitions for Watford this season. Clearly not yet up to the standard of Championship football, it is good for the 20-year-old to get some experience under his belt and it is hoped he will do so at Austrian side Grazer AK.
Myles Roberts
A very minor move but worth mentioning for the sake of thoroughness. Watford recalled Roberts from his loan at Partick Thistle so they could pen a new loan deal with League One side Bristol Rovers. Even though the 23-year-old was playing regularly in Scotland, it was thought the move across the border would be beneficial for his development.
Review of the Window
Based on the incomings and outgoings, the January transfer window looks to have been quite a poor one for the Hornets. Sporting Director, Gian Luca Nani, claimed it was not through a lack of trying but simply that it is difficult to find the right players and get deals done within budgetary constraints. Most of his comments were standard PR waffle and did nothing to placate the fans whose anger towards their unambitious owners continued to grow as the window shut.
At a time when a Watford side slipping down the table needed fresh bodies to get their promotion push back on track, the people who could make a difference ended up doing very little. Fans are frustrated at the lack of spending, the reliance on taking scraps from sister-side Udinese and the fact that the squad is now smaller than it was before January. With the group currently at his disposal, finishing in the playoffs would represent a huge overachievement for Cleverley.
