Watford have turned down an initial loan offer from Trabzonspor for centre-back William Troost-Ekong.

The 28-year-old has failed to break into the first-team under Rob Edwards so far this season, with his only minutes coming as a late substitute in the 1-1 draw at West Brom in the week.

Despite that, The Athletic reporter Adam Leventhal has revealed that the Hornets have turned down an offer from the Turkish champions, that would've included the possibility to make the move a permanent one in the future.

"The Athletic understands that Watford have rejected an offer from Trabzonspor for central defender William Troost-Ekong. The Turkish club wanted to take the Nigeria captain on a season-long loan with an option to buy but that was knocked back. It's believed the option price was in the region of £1.7 million."

Interestingly, the report adds that Troost-Ekong is not going to be involved in the squad as Watford take on Burnley this evening, although that's nothing to do with a potential transfer, with Edwards simply preferring others.

The verdict

You can understand why Watford turned this deal down as they aren't getting the cash up front, whilst £1.7m isn't a major fee anyway, so they probably feel Troost-Ekong is worth more.

The chance to move to Turkey, and potentially play in the Champions League, is obviously going to appeal to the player, so it will be interesting to see if he pushes for this move.

Either way, you suspect this isn't the last we've heard of this but Watford are right to hold out for a better deal for the defender, who is under contract for another three years.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.