Watford were reportedly interested in a deal to re-sign Matej Vydra during the January transfer window according to The Athletic. 

Vydra found regular game time hard to come by with Burnley in the early stages of this year's league campaign, which saw him attract interest from a number of clubs from Italy, Spain, Germany and Turkey during the New Year, although a move failed to materialise for one reason or another.

Interest in his services won't have come as a surprise at the time, as Vydra was far down the pecking order in Sean Dyche's plans for the Burnley team, with all of his strikers available for selection at the time.

You would have imagined that a return to Vicarage Road would have been a tempting proposition for Vydra though, with the 28-year-old being no stranger to life with the Hornets.

He spent three seasons with Watford, which included an impressive loan spell in his first year with the club, where Vydra scored 38 goals in 95 appearances for the them, as they won promotion into the Premier League.

Therefore, it didn't come as a surprise to see the Hornets make his loan move a permanent one soon after their promotion into the top-flight was confirmed, and Vydra went on to feature for them in the top-flight, before departing in the summer of 2016, as he moved to Derby County.

The Czech forward has gone on to make 27 appearances for Burnley this season, who are currently sat 16th in the Premier League table, with seven matches remaining in this year's campaign.

Whilst Watford have impressed in the second-half of the 2020/21 season, with Xisco Munoz's side sat second in the Championship table, and on course to win promotion back into the Premier League at the first time of asking.

The Verdict: 

This hasn't come as a surprise.

Vydra really impressed me whilst with Watford, both in his loan spell and permanent spell with the Hornets, and he's a player that the Vicarage Road faithful will hold in high regard.

He struggled for consistent game time with the Burnley first-team in the first-half of this year's campaign, and it did come somewhat as a surprise to see him not re-sign for Watford, even on a temporary basis.

Watford have coped absolutely fine without him though, and I'd be stunned if they weren't to win promotion back into the Premier League this season.