Watford in advanced talks to sign left-back and striker from Udinese

Watford are in advanced talks to sign a left-back and a striker from Udinese, as they aim to speed up their summer recruitment.

The Watford Observer understands Jordan Zemura is likely to be heading to Vicarage Road this summer, the first recruit with any Championship experience after he won promotion with the Cherries in 2021/22.

And he is set to be joined by forward Iker Bravo, who found himself on the periphery of the Udinese first team last season.

More: Ravaglia flies in to sign permanent deal with Watford

Omar Traore became Watford's first summer signing when he signed from Gino Pozzo's sister club on Thursday, with goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia having flown to the UK to join permanently from Bologna.

The view of the club is that, with finances tight, recruiting players from Udinese who may not have been affordable from elsewhere is a sensible route to take.

The Hornets achieved success by signing back-up players from Italy when Pozzo first bought the club and Scott Duxbury talked earlier this summer about using the relationship even more readily.

Zemura was close to signing in January, only for the deal to be vetoed by then boss Javi Gracia, who wanted a more versatile player.

The 26-year-old is an exclusively left-sided player and can operate in a more advanced role where necessary.

He made 19 appearances for Udinese last season, contributing to a tally of 73 since signing from Bournemouth in 2023.

Bravo, who came through Barcelona's La Masia academy, has an underwhelming goals record, with career numbers of 23 in 115 matches.

With that grounding, though, and having then been recruited by Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid since, he should bring a good technical level.

He won player of the tournament at the Under-19 Euros in 2024 but has operated as much as a second striker as a main number nine throughout his career.

Quim Junyent is the MVP of EURO U-19 2026! 2026: 🇪🇸 QUIM JUNYENT 2025: 🇳🇱 Kees Smit 2024: 🇪🇸 Iker Bravo 2023: 🇮🇹 Luis Hasa 2017: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿Mason Mount 2016: 🇫🇷 Jean-Kévin Augustin 2015: 🇪🇸 Marco Asensio 2014: 🇩🇪 Davie Selke 2013: 🇷🇸 Aleksandar Mitrović 2012: 🇪🇸 Gerard Deulofeu 2011: 🇪🇸… pic.twitter.com/hk9NWUfPk9

— Football Talent Scout - Jacek Kulig (@FTalentScout) July 11, 2026

He looks set to add to Luca Kjerrumgaard and Mamadou Doumbia as an option to lead the line, with Rocco Vata and Nestory Irankunda also options to play in advanced central positions, though more likely as second strikers.

With a goalkeeper, two full-backs and a forward all likely to soon be confirmed, there are still gaps in the Hornets' squad.

Mattie Pollock and Kevin Keben are the only senior centre-backs on the books, while numbers are also low in midfield.