The loan signing of former striker Emmanuel Dennis has now been officially confirmed by Watford, on their official club website.

The Hornets are not paying a loan fee to his parent club Nottingham Forest, but also do not have an option to buy when the loan finishes at the end of the season.

The forward will once again wear the number 25 shirt.

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

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, with various add-ons that could make it worth up to €20m.

Dennis was one of very few positives when Watford were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2021/22.

He scored 10 goals in 33 Premier League appearances, and also chipped in with a further six assists, and his pace, skill and ability to pull off the unlikely made him a firm fan favourite.

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.

His move to Forest coincided with a large number of other new signings arriving 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.

However, in a tweet last night Basaksehir said “We parted ways with our football player Emmanuel Dennis by mutual agreement. We wish Emmanuel Dennis success for the remainder of his career.”

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 head coach Valerien 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.