Andy Scott is to strengthen Watford’s backroom staff with the surprise appointment close to completion after an agreement with his current club Brentford.

Scott is to join the club as technical director in a move which will, the Watford Observer understands, will see him work alongside Filippo Giraldi, who holds the same job title, and bolster the club’s recruitment strength.

On the surface, the appointment may not appear overly invigorating, but Scott has fast developed a reputation for delivering quality, albeit in the second tier of English football.

In a former life as a manager, he gave later Arsenal and Roma first-choice goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny his professional debut in 2009, and more recently brought Neal Maupay, Florian Jozefzoon and Ollie Watkins, three players tipped to have a Premier League future, into the side.

The former Brentford boss has been head of recruitment with the Bees since July 2016, originally with his role titled as ‘chief scout’ and has been credited with helping to make the Griffin Park club a competitive outfit in the Championship, in spite of a relatively meagre budget for the second tier.

Tom Moore, Brentford writer for GetWestLondon, told the Watford Observer: “Given the way Brentford operate in the transfer window they do a lot of statistical analysis. It’s a chicken and egg thing really; the data highlights a player, and then Andy would go and check them out.

“When he was here he often found players who had not been on the radar and his record shows that he has an eye for a signing, because far more often than not they have worked out.

“It’s partly down to the system, but Brentford have sold players for big money and replaced them without suffering in terms of results. They had a slow start this season, but things are looking good now.”