Watford’s chief executive Scott Duxbury insists today’s Football League rule changes will have no impact on the club’s transfer strategy this summer.

The Football League has today confirmed it has agreed to bring foreign loans in line with the rules for British players at its AGM in Portugal.

Football League sides can only sign eight British-based loan players in a season, play five in a match-day squad and bring in four from one club.

Watford signed 15 loan players last season and ten from Udinese which was allowed because the previous rules considered foreign loan players as 'permanent transfers'.

It has been clear for more than six months that the Football League was going to ask its members to vote on the matter.

But even if the rules hadn’t changed, the Hornets had no intention of signing a similar number of loan players this season.

When asked how the pending changes would affect the Hornets during his exclusive interview with the Watford Observer yesterday (Thursday), Duxbury replied: "It won’t because we will operate under the rules, which we did last year and will do again this year. We have known that they are looking to change the rules because they talked about it six months ago.

"Whatever rules are in front of us we will comply with. We will operate in a way which gives us maximum advantage but whatever the rules are we will operate within them."

Watford’s transfer policy last summer was heavily criticised by sections of the media and football as a whole.

The delay in completing the takeover and the club’s transfer embargo last summer, which was due to the financial issue with the company LNOC and was lifted on July 30, was a huge contributing factor in the Hornets deciding to loan so many players rather than sign the likes of Almen Abdi permanently.

The chief executive explained: “Bringing in 14 loan players was not ideal but it was a situation driven by necessity. The transfer window was closing and we wanted to give Gianfranco the possibility of picking the best team from a pool of players.

“Ultimately, the rules are the rules and because we came to the club late, we used the resources we had to bring in the best players available.

“It was a matter of necessity due to us coming in late.

“Was it an ideal situation? No. Will we be doing it again? No. Because we have time to plan the squad accordingly now.”

Watford were again put under a Regulation 19 transfer embargo in March following the Football Disciplinary Commission’s findings into the misconduct charges against the club and their former owner Laurence Bassini, who was banned from owning or holding any position of authority in a Football League club for three years.

The term embargo can be misleading as Watford are still able to sign any player they chose, with the Football League simply overseeing their activity.

Duxbury said: "It is a Regulation 19 embargo which means we can sign players with the permission of the Football League and both parties accept we can build a competitive squad and we will be able to sign players."

There will be further comments from our interview with Scott Duxbury yesterday uploaded later this afternoon.