Watford are still pursuing their complaint against Everton over an alleged illegal approach for former head coach Marco Silva, but are not seeking compensation from the Toffees.

Conflicting national media reports last night claimed the Vicarage Road club had either reached an agreement with Everton or were demanding payment for Silva’s services.

Watford, though, insist they never expected to receive compensation for Silva and instead claim their initial complaint was made out of principle over Everton’s advances.

Both sides have been involved in mediation meetings chaired by the Premier League, which have yet to reach an amicable solution.

“The complaint to the Premier League makes clear the seriousness of the allegation and what the club believes is overwhelming evidence of a clear breach of Premier League rules,” a club statement read.

“At the request of the Premier League we entered into mediation with Everton in a process that involved club officials and their respective legal teams, with no conclusion being reached.

“Therefore the disciplinary process continues. In pursuing its disciplinary claim, the club has known from the outset it forfeited any right to compensation as a consequence of not following a proposed arbitration process.

“We believe the situation is not about a compensation figure but the principle of making a stand when the actions of one Premier League club completely undermine and cause intrinsic damage to a fellow member club.”

The source of the Hornets initial complaint dates back to November 2017, when Everton first made an attempt to lure Silva away from Vicarage Road.

That approach, Watford feel, resulted in Silva losing focus and a downturn in results which ultimately led to Watford sacking the former Hull City boss in January.

Having failed to secure Silva’s signature, Everton appointed Sam Allardyce who was in turn replaced by Silva at the end of last season.

The Hornets were offered a figure believed to be in the region of £9 million to speak to Silva by Everton in November, and were understood by the Watford Observer to be seeking a similar payment as recently as May.

While they accept receiving financial remuneration is no longer a possibility, the club hopes the Premier League will resolve the issue.

The statement concluded: “We trust the Premier League to fully investigate the complaint and we will comply with that process.”

Watford will not be making any further comment on the matter.