Derby County could be set to receive a welcome boost to their finances thanks to a sell-on clause if Watford decide to cash in on midfielder Will Hughes this summer, according to Derbyshire Live.

Hughes left Derby for Watford in the summer of 2017 for an initial fee of £5 million that could have been worth around £9 million with potential add-ons.

The midfielder has been a key player at Vicarage Road over the last three-and-a-half seasons and was a strong performer for them in the Championship last term scoring twice in 30 appearances to help the Hornets secure promotion back to the Premier League.

According to the Daily Mail, Hughes has now turned down the offer of a new contract from Watford that would have committed his long-term future to the club.

That is thought to have alerted Crystal Palace who are considering making a move for the midfielder as they aim to bolster their options in the middle of the park.

According to Derbyshire Live, Derby had a 15% sell-on clause inserted into the deal that took Hughes to Watford in 2017 and that would see them receive a financial boost from any potential sale of the 26-year-old this summer.

The verdict

Derby are struggling financially with fair play and that has been causing them a lot of issues with player recruitment this summer.

Therefore, this would be a huge boost for Wayne Rooney’s side because it would help to bring them more in line with financial fair play even if it does not alter whether they can sign any more players or not before the window shuts.

Hughes was an excellent player for Derby and always looked likely to make it in the Premier League, so the Rams were right to insert a sell-on clause in the deal that saw him leave the club to sign for Watford in the summer of 2017.

Those are the kind of financially smart moves that Derby might have started to go away from in recent years and they have found themselves too often losing value on players that they have signed and then allowed to leave.

The Rams will be hoping that Hughes does end up making the move to Palace this summer so that they can recoup a little more funds to bolster their current situation.