Ken Sema at Watford: Should he get a new contract? When does his current deal expire? | OneFootball

Ken Sema has been a Watford player since 2018 when the Hornets acquired him from Ostersunds in his native Sweden, but it hasn’t all been plain sailing for the left-footer.

The 28-year-old arrived four years ago on a five-year deal at Vicarage Road, but played just 17 times in the Premier League in his debut season, which led to him being loaned out to Udinese – who are owned by the Pozzo family as well – for the 2019-20 campaign in Serie A.

2020-21 in the Championship was Sema’s real breakout season for Watford as he featured in 41 league games as they won promotion back to the Premier League, but it was the same old story for the Sweden international again in the top flight as he played just 18 times last season, with many of those appearances coming from the substitutes bench.

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It appears that the level Sema is most likely to feature at is the Championship, and in Rob Edwards’ brief tenure as head coach of the Hornets, the left-sided player started every single match as he was favoured to Hassane Kamara at left wing-back.

In his 10 appearances so far this season, Sema has scored twice and also assisted two goals as well, pretty much justifying why he should be playing from the very start in that role over Kamara.

With new manager Slaven Bilic coming in to replace Edwards, Sema will surely feel he has done enough already to impress the Croat and to keep a place in the starting 11, whether that is at left-back or at left-wing considering Bilic’s favoured formation is a 4-2-3-1.

There are more pressing matters for Sema however when it comes to his future, as his contract is set to expire at Vicarage Road in the summer of 2023.

All the evidence suggests that the 13-cap Sweden international is a very effective Championship player, but he just doesn’t have what it takes to make it at Premier League level.

Therefore, Watford should probably be looking to wait to see what division they are in next season in an ideal world when it comes to deciding on Sema’s future – if they are promoted back to the upper echelons of English football then it may be for the best to move him on.

However, Watford perhaps cannot afford to wait that long to make a decision, as Sema would be able to talk to overseas clubs regarding contracts in January for the following season if he is not to be offered a deal before then.

It’s a tough call for the Watford hierarchy, but if they are in a position in a few months where it looks as though Premier League football is on the horizon, then Sema may have to be let go in order to bring a better calibre of player in.