Watford look to have been beaten to the signing of Liverpool winger Lazar Markovic with the Serbian due to hold talks with Fiorentina today.

The Hornets have sought to bring the 23-year-old to Vicarage Road this summer, allowing him to link-up with head coach Marco Silva again after the two worked together at Hull City last season.

But Liverpool's desire to recoup at least a significant chunk of the £20 million they splashed on the forward in 2014 has ruled them out of contention, with Fiorentina now close to sealing a £16 million transfer.

Markovic has been surplus at Anfield for some time, and spent the last two seasons on loan with Fenerbache, Sporting Lisbon and Hull.

The Hornets have also shown an interest in Andre Carrillo, Rachid Ghezzal and Kamil Grosicki during the transfer window, but are yet to add to their ranks out wide.