Daniel Bachmann first found out that Watford wanted to sign him via his now club team-mate and compatriot Sebastian Prodl, he has revealed.

In an interview for the club website, the Austrian goalkeeper said he was not aware of the Hornets' interest until Prodl told him about it during an international break back in 2017.

A change of agents meant that Bachmann, who was at Stoke at the time, had not been told about Watford's interest, but once he was aware a deal was agreed to bring him to Vicarage Road fairly promptly.

"Sebastian Prödl was the person who first told me Watford were interested in me," he said.

"I was in the Austria squad for most of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers and he was there too. The first time Seb mentioned it was in March 2017. He basically said, ‘do you know Watford are interested in you?’ I told him I hadn’t heard anything. What had happened was I’d changed agent the November before that and it was all a bit of a mix-up. We ended up sorting it out.

"The next time I saw Seb in June again with the national team he asked me what was happening with Watford and said, ‘I know they still want you’. I still hadn’t heard anything, but a couple of weeks after the national team was finished they got in contact with my agent. I got a call and I came to the training ground the next day and we sorted it out pretty quickly. I knew of Gomey because as a goalkeeper you obviously know about Heurelho Gomes. I also knew who the owners were and I knew a couple of players, but when it got serious and I heard more about the interest I looked into the club a lot more."

Bachmann very nearly turned his back on English football when nerves got the better of him during negotiations with Stoke.

However, he is thankful that the Potters persisted with their interest, as it set him on a path that has recently seen him make his first two senior appearances with Watford.

"The night before we were due at the training ground to sign everything, my mum asked me if I was alright. I said I was fine, but she knew I wasn’t happy," he said.

"It’s obviously a big step away from home, in a different country with a different language. I went to the training ground the next day and I didn’t want to sign, I didn’t want to stay. As a mother, she felt that, and she asked me what was wrong, and I said I can’t do it. It was a bit of an awkward situation at the time, and I flew home.

"Over the next few days, Andy Quy ­– who was the goalkeeper coach at Stoke City for a long time and only just left recently – kept making contact with us and made me and my parents realise I would be alright. I ended up coming back over, which is obviously a big thing.

"Walking out for my debut at Vicarage Road was not a shock, because I’ve been out warming up before matches, but it is different when you are part of the team and walking out onto the pitch and playing, rather than just doing a warm-up. It was nice to finally play, I won’t lie. To make my debut and for it to be at home as well was perfect. Obviously, the game didn’t really go as well as we would have liked it to as a team, but I was fairly happy with my debut overall."

After getting his first chances to impress head coach Nigel Pearson, Bachmann is keen on creating as many opportunities to play as he can.

However, he knows he will have to be patient with Watford owning several first-team standard keepers.

"Everybody wants to play. I want to play every week, that’s what we’re here for," he said.

"I had a really good season last year and now we’re at a situation where I was given a chance in the cup, which I was really happy about because it gets me good game-time. All four of us goalkeepers at Watford push each other every day.

"It’s different for a goalkeeper because you don’t just come on and make your debut in the Premier League in the last few minutes. As a goalkeeper you only play when you’re playing, there’s no ‘I’ll give him a half’ or ‘I’ll give him a game’. That doesn’t happen as a goalkeeper, you’re either the number one or you’re not. But I’m happy to have played in the cup, which is a good start."