Watford have sold Hassane Kamara to Udinese for a fee believed to be around £16m, but the Ivorian will be loaned back to the Hornets for this season with no option to recall him to Serie A until after the campaign ends.

I understand the Hornets will use the sizable transfer fee to help strengthen their cash flow further since losing more than £60m of turnover since dropping out of the Premier League, but also that the injection of funds means they are in a position now to potentially keep Ismaila Sarr after his proposed move to Villa collapsed as well as strengthening the squad further with the likes of the loan of Kortney Hause for instance.

Kamara, meanwhile, will remain at Vicarage Road for the rest of this season. Player of the Season last term, the 28-year-old joined from Nice in January and has quickly become a fans’ favourite.

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In an interview with club chairman Scott Duxbury in June, I asked about the state of the finances and he told me: “That’s part of the reason I am so excited about the coming season. I can focus on supporting Rob Edwards and making the changes in culture and approach, because I don’t have to worry about our finances.”

When I asked this morning if the club’s finances had taken an unexpected hit or if the June comments overly confident, it was made clear that the chairman said what he did in the knowledge that the club would be trading players and using some of the revenue to plug gaps.

Head coach Rob Edwards has already identified left-sided defenders he would look to bring in at the end of this campaign. He is said to be fully in agreement with the Kamara deal.

While there were other clubs interested in Kamara, my understanding is that all others wanted him immediately. Because of the relationship with Udinese, Watford were able to request both the loan back for this season and to have the full transfer fee paid now.

Udinese sold their 19-year-old Italian Under-21 international full-back Destiny Udogie to Spurs and wanted Kamara in to replace him. However, the Italian club then negotiated with the North London side to have Udogie loaned back for this season. They still wanted Kamara, a deal was struck but the player stays with Watford for the rest of the 2022/23 campaign.