Watford FC: It feels likely 25-year-old will be eyeing a Vicarage Road escape route already - View | OneFootball

Imran Louza has fallen out of favour at Watford, so he may be hoping to leave in the near future.

Watford have had a very strong start to their 2024/25 season - but one senior player in particular is inconspicuously playing little part in that in the form of Imran Louza.

Last season was a challenging one for the Hornets as they finished just six points outside the drop zone despite expectations of a much higher finish.

Valerien Ismael was sacked in March, and in came former Watford player, Tom Cleverley, as interim manager to steady the ship. Cleverley, who had been desperate to get into management, impressed during his interim spell and was offered the permanent job towards the end of last season.

So far, that decision by the board has paid off, as Cleverley's current crop of talent look to be extremely competitive in the Championship and have improved tenfold from last season.

The Hornets won their first three league games of the season, and scored an impressive eight goals from those three games. They have since lost 1-0 to Sheffield United and drawn 1-1 with Coventry, but Cleverley will be hoping to get his side back to winning ways immediately.

Watford had an impressive summer transfer window, bringing in the experienced pair of Moussa Sissoko and Angelo Ogbonna, for example, but there is one player that Hornets fans would have been surprised to see stay at the club.

Imran Louza looked increasingly likely to depart over the summer, having spent the second half of last season out on loan in France, but he remains a Watford player, despite receiving very little game-time in recent times.

Summer transfer interest in Imran Louza failed to materialise

The midfielder completely fell out of favour at Watford last season, and in January was loaned out to Lorient, where he scored and assisted on his debut and went on to make 10 Ligue 1 starts under current Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris.

There was an option to buy at the end of the loan deal, but Lorient were relegated from the top flight and opted not to trigger that clause in his contract, which in turn sent the Moroccan back to Hertfordshire.

Despite this, it looked as though Louza would return to Ligue 1 this summer, as according to L'Equipe, Saint-Etienne were interested in signing the midfielder.

It was reported earlier in the window that Watford were willing to sell the Morocco international, as clubs from France and Spain were keen on securing his services.

Turkish and Greek clubs Trabzonspor and PAOK were also reportedly interested, but Louza supposedly preferred a move to France.

Despite all this speculation, Louza remained a Watford player for at least the first half of the 2024/25 campaign with all major transfer windows now closed, but he doesn't look to be in Tom Cleverley's plans whatsoever now that has happened.

Louza's only league outing has come in the form of a last minute cameo against Stoke City in August, and having not been in the matchday squad either side of the international break due to injury issues, the chances of his game-time increasing anytime soon are getting slimmer and slimmer.

Imran Louza departing Watford FC in January would suit all parties

It is clear that Tom Cleverley does not see the midfielder in his plans, with his only start coming in the EFL Cup against League Two opposition in the form of MK Dons.

In the summer of 2022, Louza signed a new long-term contract which is not set to expire until 2028. He had just made 20 Premier League appearances, so it made sense at the time, but now he is merely a burden on Watford's wage bill.

According to Capology, he is earning an estimated £32,500 a week, so for a player that is not likely to feature much, that is money not well spent.

With four years remaining on his contract, Watford would likely receive a decent fee for the midfielder if he was to garner interest in January, and they would be able to get him off their wage bill and put the money towards fresh, new signings to align with Cleverley's ambitions.

From Louza's perspective, he will surely be desperate to depart the club himself.