Major doubt has been cast over the future of four Watford players after they were left out of the club's pre-season tour squad.
As per The Athletic, Ismaila Sarr, Emmanuel Dennis, Adam Masina and Danny Rose will not travel to Austria with the rest of the first team squad as Rob Edwards continues to ramp up his preparations ahead of the Championship campaign.
The report states that three of those will continue to train at the club's training ground, meanwhile, Danny Rose is training at another location.
Some of the above names seemed likely to leave Vicarage Road following the Hornets relegation from the Premier League last season, but this latest development makes their exits almost certain.
Ismaila Sarr and Emmanuel Dennis are set to command significant transfer fees this summer, for example, but as yet, it appears that despite being heavily linked with a number of clubs, no talks are at an advanced stage for either player.
Danny Rose, meanwhile, did not feature at all for the club beyond December, and so it would be expected he would be moved on this summer.
The now 32-year-old still has one year left on his contract with the club, though.
Adam Masina is perhaps the most surprising of the names left out, but after featuring so infrequently last campaign, perhaps it should not come as a surprise.
Masina did, though, feature extensively for the Hornets as they won promotion in 2020/21, making 26 Championship appearances after recovering from an early season injury setback.
Watford kick off their 2022/23 Championship campaign with a home tie against Sheffield United on August 1st.
The Verdict
It would be a surprise were any of this quartet to remain at Watford after this latest development.
Whilst the club will hope to get good fees for Dennis and Sarr, simply getting Rose off the books will be the task for the Hornets' hierarchy.
Masina, meanwhile, could be set for a move back to Italy and Udinese, with the two clubs having the same ownership family.
It will certainly be interesting to see how the futures of all four players play out in the coming weeks and months.