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Watford have signed centre-back Antonio Tikvic, 20, from Udinese on a season-long loan.
The Serie A club is owned by the Pozzo family, who also have a controlling stake in Watford.
The Croatia Under-21 international, who joined Udinese from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023, made just two senior appearances in the Italian top flight last season.
The Hamburg-born defender spent time on the books at St Pauli, Eintracht
Watford midfielder Tom Dele-Bashiru has signed a new two-year contract at Vicarage Road, with an option for a further 12 months.
The 24-year-old joined The Hornets from Manchester City’s youth set-up in 2019 and made 38 appearances last season, scoring three goals.
He needs to play one more game to reach 50 for the club, having missed most of the 2020-21 campaign with a serious knee injury, which was followed
“He was our best player by a stretch the last time he was here. Even though it wasn’t a successful season for the club, he was one of the positives to come out of it.”
Sissoko, who won 71 caps for France, is Watford’s third summer signing following goalkeeper Jonathan Bond – another former Hornet returning to Vicarage Road – and young forward Rocco Vata.
They will begin the new
Watford have signed Celtic forward Rocco Vata on a four-year contract.
The Hornets will have to pay compensation for the 19-year-old, who made six substitute appearances for Celtic’s first team and scored in a 5-0 Scottish Cup win over Buckie Thistle in January.
The son of former defender Rudi Vata, he joined the Scottish champions aged seven and is a Republic of Ireland youth international.
Vata’s deal at Vicarage Road
Watford have re-signed goalkeeper Jonathan Bond on a one-year contract, with an option for a further 12 months.
The 31-year-old has been a free agent since leaving US Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy in February.
Bond began his career Vicarage Road, coming through the academy and making 33 first-team appearances before joining Reading in 2015.
“It is very nostalgic to come back here and see some familiar faces; making
Thursday’s statement from The Trust said: “While some supporters may view this as a way to help the club meet its immediate financial needs, the Trust have questions about the nature of this appeal for investment and the wider implications as to our club’s financial stability.”
Watford, who posted a pre-tax profit of £24.1 million for the past financial year, have had nine different managers since August 2020.
“While the
Watford have appointed Alberto Garrido, part of the backroom team at Real Madrid, as their new first-team coach.
The 48-year-old Spaniard will work alongside assistant head coach Damon Lathrope and first-team development coach Armand Kavaja on Hornets head coach Tom Cleverley’s backroom staff.
“We are trying to rebuild a winning culture around the club again and he comes from the most successful culture in world football,” said Cleverley.
“Alberto
Watford have been owned by Gino Pozzo since 2014 and have twice won promotion to the Premier League in that time, as well as reaching the FA Cup final in 2019.
But they were relegated from the top flight of English football in 2022 and finished 15th in the Championship last season, 17 points adrift of the play-off places.
They have had nine different bosses since the summer of 2020,
Watford full-back Jeremy Ngakia has signed a three-year contract extension with the Championship club, while former England international Jake Livermore is among three players to be released.
Ngakia, 23, who also has a further 12-month club option on his deal, has made 69 league appearances for the Hornets since joining from West Ham United in the summer of 2020.
Injuries limited him to only 15 appearances in the 2023-24
Cleverley now becomes Watford’s 11th permanent head coach since 2018 and eighth since the end of the 2020-21 season.
Earlier this week he spoke to BBC Sport about not being daunted about the high turnover rate of those who take the top job at Vicarage Road.
The midfielder also added that his motivation as a manager comes from what he failed to achieve as a player.
“There is a lot