In August, Watford were 8/13 to go straight back to life in the Championship.
But with 15 games to go, the Hornets find themselves in the top half of the Premier League table with the third top-scorer in the league leading their line.
And while Odion Ighalo didn’t sign for Quique Sanchez Flores’ side in the past six months, Watford have certainly spent quite a lot in that time.
Window shut. Watford alone in 2015-16 spent more, net, than Arsenal, Spurs, Villa, Saints, Swans, Norwich COMBINED. pic.twitter.com/6JxwCG46Hm
— Nick Harris (@sportingintel) February 1, 2016
In terms of net spending, the Hornets have splashed out more than the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool.
Watford, having spent £61.8m (€81.35m) on players and receiving £5.6m (€7.37), are, in fact, third in the table of Premier League clubs’ net spend in the past two transfer windows as compiled by @SportingIntel.
The Hornets have used that spending to bring in first team players like Etienne Capoue from Spurs, Jose Manuel Jurado from Spartak Moscow and Costel Pantilimon from Sunderland.
It’s been a crazy season overall in terms of gross spending, with Premier League clubs having smashed the £1 billion mark throughout the past two windows but Watford’s figures certainly stand out.
Last season’s Championship runners-up have spent more, in net spending, than Arsenal, Spurs, Aston Villa, Southampton, Swansea and Norwich combined so it’s lucky that Sanchez Flores is getting such results out of the hefty investment made by owner Gino Pozzo.
If this is a case of Watford building a squad for a long-term future in England’s top flight then fair play to them for splashing out on such a talented group of players. But those figures could change drastically if they cash in on Odion Ighalo who is definitely worth at least €300 million.
