Watford goalkeeper Pontus Dahlberg is on the verge of leaving the Championship side, with a move back to his native Sweden with IFK Goteborg expected to happen before the end of the day, The Athletic's Adam Leventhal has reported.

The 23-year-old has failed to break into the Hornets' first-team since arriving in 2018, joining incidentally from Goteborg on a five-and-a-half year deal.

Dahlberg has been on a plethora of loan deals away from Vicarage Road since joining the club, first heading back to Goteborg in 2018 before then playing for Dutch side Emmen, back in Sweden with BK Hacken and also in League One with both Doncaster Rovers and Gillingham.

 

 

 

 

Despite being a twice-capped senior Sweden international, Dahlberg has not been fancied by any of the previous Watford managers he has worked under, failing to make a single appearance for the first-team.

And with his contract expiring next summer, Goteborg have taken the opportunity to seemingly bring the 6 ft 4 in stopper back to the club before the Swedish transfer window slams shut late on Thursday night.

The Verdict

It cannot be a surprise that Dahlberg is heading for the exit door at the Hertfordshire outfit.

The Swede failed to get a chance with any of the multiple managers at the club in his time there, and this summer he has seen two new stoppers arrive in the form of Maduka Okoye and Ben Hamer to further push him down the pecking order.

There's clearly potential there in Dahlberg, having been capped for his country, but his performances in League One last season at two clubs who ended up being relegated didn't exactly suggest he was the heir apparent to Ben Foster.

He will now get the chance to return to a club he's wholly familiar with, whilst Watford cut their losses.