Every Watford FC striker from the last 5 seasons ranked from worst to best - Andre Gray = 3rd | OneFootball

Highlights

In the last five years, Watford have been on somewhat of a rollercoaster.

Indeed, an FA Cup final, a promotion to the Premier League, as well as two relegations and an increasingly bonkers policy when it comes to managers mean it has been a time of big ups and downs for the club.

With that said, we thought we'd take a look at all of the club's strikers between 2018/19 and 2022/23, in order to rank them from worst to best.

It's worth noting, we have ranked these players according to their contribution to the club in the aforementioned timeframe, as opposed to their talent or overall careers.

12 Rey Manaj

As mentioned above, there are some shocking names on this list and one of them is Rey Manaj.

The Albanian striker lasted just a matter of months at the club before being released, and his seven Watford appearances will not live long in the memory of any Hornets' fan.

11 Henrique Araujo

Young Portuguese striker Henrique Araujo is another rather forgettable striker to be on the Watford's books in recent seasons.

Arriving for half a season on loan to much hype about his talent, Araujo never got a run of games to show what he could do, and equally, never impressed enough in cameos to be given those run of games.

10 Ashley Fletcher

From the second Ashley Fletcher signed for Watford it always looked difficult for him to find a place in the side and so it proved to be the case.

Remarkably, Fletcher is still on the books at the club permanently despite only making six Watford appearances. He is, though, currently on loan at Sheffield Wednesday.

9 Stipe Perica

Stipe Perica arrived at Watford from Udinese in 2020/21 but never really got a run of starts, despite showing some promising flashes.

Watford went on to get promoted that season, and Perica soon departed at the end of that campaign.

8 Britt Assombalonga

Another strange and questionable signing made by Watford in recent seasons, Assombalonga re-joined the club in January 2023.

The forward scored 2 goals in 11 appearances during his second time at Vicarage Road.

7 Josh King

Five goals and three assists in his only Premier League campaign as a Hornet mean King ranks fairly low on this list.

He did score a hat-trick in a good win away at Everton, though, so at least gave Watford one memorable away day.

6 Vakoun Bayo

Scoring just four goals after signing for a multi-million fee last summer, Vakoun Bayo was a huge disappointment at Watford before being loaned out.

He remains at the club and continues to find his way into Valerien Ismael's side this season.

5 Cucho Hernandez

An exciting prospect when joining the club, but understandably struggled to score goals in a struggling Premier League side.

Could have been brilliant for the club in the Championship, we feel, but was sold before that.

4 Keinan Davis

Another who failed to deliver on the expectations upon their arrival at the club.

Davis did score a few goals, but nowhere near enough, and split opinion amongst fans about what he could bring to the side.

3 Andre Gray

It may be very controversial putting him this high, but, when you look in terms of goals, and ignore the price tag, you can justify putting Gray over the other names on this list.

Still, it shows how bad Watford's strikers have been over this period for Gray to be this high.

2 Joao Pedro

Although not an out and out striker, Joao Pedro did play there during Watford's promotion winning campaign in 2020/21 and on various other occasions.

The Brazilian is a huge talent and no doubt has a big future ahead of him.

1 Troy Deeney

Last but not least, we have Troy Deeney.

Given there isn't strong competition for this slot, Deeney felt the obvuous choice, especially given he captained the club to an FA Cup final during this time period.

Joao Pedro is the only player to come close on this list, but longevity gets Deeney the number one spot.