Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley claims Sir Alex Ferguson and former Hornet Ben Foster had a huge impact on his decision to join Watford on loan.

The Golden Boys beat a number of Premier League and Championship clubs to the signing of Cleverley, who marked his Watford debut on Tuesday with the winning goal.

Foster was the last United player to join Watford on loan and the England keeper enjoyed two hugely successful seasons in Hertfordshire.

Cleverley said: “I spoke to Ben on Friday morning and asked in general what the club is like, where did you live and what are the boys like and he was really complimentary of the club, so he swung my head towards Watford.”

Hornets' chairman Jimmy Russo recently revealed United boss Sir Alex described Mackay’s appointment as Watford manager as a “great choice”.

And Cleverley said: “Sir Alex said Malky Mackay is a good man and good to play for. He said it is a good club with good facilities – the training ground and stadium – and good fans, so Sir Alex definitely made Watford look inviting to me.”

Cleverley has joined the Hornets until January but the midfielder, who can also play in defence, hinted he may be here for the full season.

When asked what his targets were during his loan spell at Vicarage Road, he said: “If I stay here for the full season then I would like to get into double figures for the season and keep my place in Watford’s team and keep playing well and getting results.

“I am a Watford player until January, so I just want to get results for this club.”

Cleverley excelled during a loan spell at Leicester City last season – scoring two goals in 15 appearances – but his time at the Walkers Stadium was cut short by a dislocated shoulder.

On his return from injury the Basingstoke-born midfielder scored in United’s final pre-season friendly against Valencia and Sir Alex was unsure whether to loan the youngster out.

But, in the end, the United legend allowed Cleverley to gain first-team experience elsewhere and the England Under-20 international was delighted with his “dream” Watford debut.

Cleverley said: “There were a couple of clubs that came in for me. Sir Alex Ferguson told me about Watford on Friday and I liked the sound of that and I spoke to Malky on Friday night and things moved really fast from there.

“Saturday I knew I was coming down and I came down Sunday night and just trained once before starting tonight [Tuesday], so it has been a whirlwind few days but the end result has been good.”

Mackay added: “I was delighted with him [against Forest] and I don’t think he gave the ball away once. He showed his quality.

“I am delighted we managed to get him because there was some competition for his signing and the fact Sir Alex has given him to us, I am thankful for that and we managed to get the business done very quickly.

“Sir Alex spoke to Tom and put him on to me and within three or four hours, Tom was down here and wanted to be a part of it. I see that type of enthusiasm from Tom and I see we do our business professionally and properly then it looks as if it is a club that Sir Alex can allow players to go to on loan and I am delighted about that.”