Aidy Boothroyd has confirmed that Watford will not be signing Ivory Coast defender Souleymane Bamba.

The Hornets had been expected to land the Dunfermline player, who has returned to Scotland following his involvement in the Olympics, for around £150,000, but Boothroyd said: “We won’t be taking him.”

This development is a further indication of the tough financial restrictions under which the Hornets boss is operating, while the Scottish club’s manager Jim McIntyre has expressed his disappointment that the move will not go through.

“Watford have pulled out of the deal for whatever reasons,” he said. “The transfer was agreed and they decided to pull the plug on it which is very disappointing.”