There is a new era underway at Watford.

The hiring of new head coach Rob Edwards marks a change in philosophy for the Hornets, who are looking to shake the 'hire and fire' tag that they have been labelled with since Gino Pozzo took over the club a decade ago.

Whether or not Edwards will be afforded the time to build something remains to be seen, but all of the noises coming out of Vicarage Road suggest a genuine change of approach from the Hornets hierarchy.

With that being said, owner Gino Pozzo, CEO and Chairman Scott Duxbury and head coach Rob Edwards have a busy summer ahead as they look to construct a squad capable of what they hope will be another immediate return to the Premier League.

That being said, player sales are absolutely necessary following a relegation and Watford are no exception. However, the Hornets must ensure that they re-invest the fees they receive for certain players, otherwise, they may as well keep hold of them.

Dennis and Sarr

For example, everybody at the club likely accepts that Ismaila Sarr and Emmanuel Dennis are set to leave this summer.

The two players are Premier League quality and key assets for the Hornets as they look to re-coup some of the finances lost by dropping down to the second-tier.

Plenty of clubs are said to be interested in the pair, and it sounds as though Watford will be asking for somewhere in the region of £45 million for the duo.

Nobody is expecting Watford to go out and re-invest all or even most of this money, in fact, most probably expect it will merely soften the financial blow that relegation brings.

However, other reported player sales are a different story.

 

 

Cucho Hernandez and Zinckernagel

With Colombian Cucho Hernandez's sale to Columbus Crew said to be done, and reports that the club are willing to listen to offers for Danish winger Philip Zinckernagel, these are the sales which, if they go through, the club have to re-invest.

It could be argued that both players could have played a role for Watford in the Championship next campaign, but with Cucho potentially wanting out, it made sense to collect what is a decent transfer fee for him at approximately $10 million.

However, this only makes sense if that money is now spent on bringing in an addition or two in the striking department.

The Hornets are now extremely light up top, with Joao Pedro, who it could be argued isn't an out and out centre-forward, the only 'senior' striker on the books heading into pre-season.

It remains to be seen what system Rob Edwards deploys at Vicarage Road, but if he uses a front two, at least two quality strikers need to come in during the window.

Similarly, if Zinckernagel is cashed in on, Watford must use that money to strengthen Rob Edwards' options further.

In the past, particularly when in the Championship, Watford have spent very little, relying on shrewd moves and making the most of their links with Udinese to make competitive additions to their squad.

Whilst they shouldn't necessarily go away from that model as it has been successful in the second-tier, this summer, they should not be shy to spend any of the money they receive from player sales outside of Sarr and Dennis.

With the approximate £8.5 million in for Hernandez, and a potential further £5-8 million for Zinckernagel, that can buy you two to three good players at this level if you are looking in the right places.

Watford should back their man in the transfer market this summer, and give Rob Edwards the tools he needs to be successful in WD18.