“Massively underwhelming” – Watford urged against potential Nottingham Forest transfer | OneFootball

A former Watford man looks to have been put on the market by his current club

There are reportedly three Championship clubs interested in Nottingham Forest striker Emmanuel Dennis this January, with the Premier League club ready to listen to offers.

That’s according to Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth, who also revealed that there is interest from La Liga and Serie A.

The Nigerian forward moved from Watford to Nottingham Forest in 2022 for a fee of around £15million, before returning on loan at the end of last season.

It has not been revealed whether the Hornets are one of those clubs interested this time around, but we asked our Watford Fan Pundit, Justin, for his thoughts on any potential Dennis return.

Watford urged to avoid Dennis return by supporter

“He hasn't played a competitive match for many months. I don't think we've got time to rehabilitate him back to first-team football. I think we need someone that can come in immediately and hit the ground running.

“I have to say I was disappointed last season when he came back for a second spell, although he scored four goals in 17 matches, he wasn't ready to go back into first-team football then, I think he'll be even more behind now.

“So, should he find himself back at Vicarage Road for a third time, I think it would be massively underwhelming and would show a complete lack of ambition from our recruitment team.”

It’s likely time for a new challenge for Dennis

Had Dennis’s return loan spell gone incredibly well last season, in all likelihood Watford would have been first in the queue to bring the player back, on what would probably be a financially favourable deal for the Hornets, especially given the large transfer fee they received a couple of years ago.

However, as Justin said, four goals in 17 goals is good but not great, and he’s now been out of regular first-team football for even longer than when he joined this time last year.

Dennis only spent one season as a permanent Watford player, scoring 10 goals in 33 appearances, and while that was a great season, there’s likely little emotional pull for the player or the fans given his short stop at the club.

Dennis has had a career that has taken him from Nigeria to Ukraine, Belgium, Germany, England and Turkey — he’s no stranger to an adventure aboard — and with La Liga and Serie A sides eyeing him up, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him take on a new challenge.

For Watford, they’re trying to mount a challenge for the play-off places, and there was little evidence to suggest Dennis had enough in the locker to do that last season, so Justin is right to suggest they might need to look for someone more proven to supercharge them up the league table.

Sometimes a relationship between a club and a player reaches a natural end, and that certainly feels like the case with Watford and Dennis.

If they are one of the interested Championship teams, then they may do best to avoid a third Dennis spell. The player himself may wish to add a new club in a new country to his already impressive CV.