Watford's head of academy Nick Cox is set to leave the club at the end of this month.

Cox has been with the club for 11 years and was promoted to head of academy two years ago.

Current assistant academy manager Chris McGuane will take over following Cox's departure.

"Working at Watford is the perfect football upbringing," Cox told the club website.

"I’m very proud of my time at the club and particularly the role I played in creating and developing The Harefield Academy partnership, something which is still unique in English football."

"Watford has always been a fantastic place for young players to develop – and that will continue to be the case, I have no doubt," he added.

"I’m leaving behind an excellent group of staff. With Chris (McGuane) stepping into the role, the Academy is in very capable hands.

"You won’t find people better at serving young people anywhere, and I thank them for their unswerving support during my time serving the club," explained Cox.

"The new ownership team have been very supportive of the Academy during the brief time I’ve worked with them. They have recently made it clear that its future will be safe-guarded and developed, and that is just as it should be at a club like Watford."

Watford's technical director Gian Luca Nani said: "I am very sorry to see Nick go but I fully respect his decision – just as I fully respect all of his achievements with the Watford Academy.

"As I said at the Fans' Forum recently, it is an amazing set-up. You only have to look at the current first-team squad to see how highly the Academy here is thought of.

"Of course we wish Nick every success and we are sure Chris will do just as fantastic a job going forward.

"We carried out an extensive search and interview process to replace Nick and Chris was the outstanding candidate.

"We are delighted to make an internal appointment, similar to how Nick rose through the ranks, which will provide continuity and build on the excellent work already done at the Academy."