Head coach Slaven Bilic wants Watford to use January to bring in players that will help him immediately, as well as signing young talent like Portuguese defender Joao Ferreria, who he admits he had never seen before.

With the well-publicised injury issues, it would be easy for the desire to strengthen immediately to lead to panic buys.

“We are not panicking,” Bilic emphasised.

“We will need to do more in this window, but everything has to be done with a plan.

“We have a long-term plan which shows in signings like Kone and Martins, but we also have to push a little bit now to continue our form in the Championship. So we have to think about signings that will help us in the short term also.

“We have to be active in the window to look for what is good for us now. We need players who will help us now.

“I like young players. But good young players are good when they are in a good situation and surrounded by players with some experience.

“Ferreira came here a few days ago but to be fair I hadn’t seen him before. He’s come through the Benfica academy, and hasn’t played a lot on loan at Rio Ave this season.

“I have to be honest and say I had never seen him before, but in a couple of training sessions he looks sharp. It’s another player who it is a shame is not eligible for tomorrow.”

There is some light at the end of the injury tunnel, when looking ahead to the next Championship game with Blackpool on January 14.

“In some positions we are more short than others, and obviously players will come back,” said Bilic.

“We have been extremely unlucky with some of the players in terms of the time they will be out, but others I hope will be back for Blackpool – Choudhury for example.”