There are still no clear details around the new contract signed by Jeremy Ngakia, or even official confirmation from Watford that it’s actually happened.

There were rumours some months ago that the 23-year-old defender had put pen to paper on a new deal, but it was never mentioned by the club at any stage.

Last week, the FA released details of all agent transactions for all clubs in the top four divisions, and within the Watford list was a line that showed Ngakia had a new contract.

It described Ngakia as having an "updated contract" - the same phrase was used with regard to Daniel Bachmann and Ryan Andrews, who both signed new deals last year.

Because the FA information covered the period from February 1, 2023, to February 1, 2024, it’s clear agreement with Ngakia must have been reached during that period, presumably towards the end in January or February.

Of course, Watford wouldn’t be alone in not announcing new contracts and it’s something that clubs don’t always do.

However, it’s far less common than saying something, and it’s hard to recall the last time a senior professional at the club agreed a new deal or extended their existing one without some official line.

The Watford Observer asked the club the following three questions and received a polite ‘no comment’ in reply:

- When was the contract signed?

- How long is the contract for?

- Why did the club not say anything at the time?

Ngakia moved to Watford in August 2020 from West Ham, where he had made five first-team appearances.

He registered 26 league and cup appearances in his first season as the Hornets were promoted back to the Premier League, but since then he has had a terrible run of luck with injuries and has made 47 more appearances in the three seasons since – 14 of them this season but only one since early November.

Indeed, Ngakia has only played a full 90 minutes for the first team 10 times since the start of last season.

Tom Cleverley said the young defender was back training with the first team group at the end of last week, and should be in contention for Saturday’s home game with Hull City.