Watford have completed the signing of former striker Emmanuel Dennis on loan for the remainder of the 2023/24 season.

There is no loan fee, and also no option to buy after the season ends.

The 26-year-old Nigerian international was sold to Nottingham Forest shortly after the start of the 22/23 campaign for a fee in the region of €14m.

In the 21/22 season, when Watford were relegated from the Premier League, gave some truly dismal performances and worked their way through three different head coaches, Dennis was a shining light whose skill and unpredictability earned him the admiration and respect of the fans.

He scored 10 goals in 33 Premier League appearances, and also chipped in with a further six assists.

However, with the drop into the Championship and the likes of Ismaila Sarr and Joao Pedro still at Vicarage Road, it always seemed likely Dennis would leave last summer.

After playing in the first two league matches of the season under Rob Edwards, he then sealed his move back to the Premier League.

His arrival at Forest coincided with a large number of other new signings walking through the door at the City Ground, and he struggled to get game time.

Dennis scored twice in 19 Premier League outings for Forest, but only six of those were as a starter and he played just 715 minutes.

In September last year, he joined Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir on what was reportedly a season-long loan.

The striker made eight Super Lig appearances between September 17 and November 12, but hasn’t played since and has registered less than six hours of competitive football.

However, the Watford Observer understands Dennis is in good shape despite his lack of recent action, something that is clearly important to Ismael.

“I want a player who is ready to play. When they come in, I need them to be able to play the next day,” he remarked, when talking about potential new signings recently.

Dennis would be eligible to play in Sunday’s FA Cup Fourth Round tie against Southampton at Vicarage Road (2pm kick-off).