Three youngsters have left Watford at the end of the summer window, two permanently and one on loan.
Michael Adu-Poku has been involved in every matchday squad so far this season, coming on as a substitute against Southampton before starting against Peterborough, but has departed for League Two side Newport County on loan.
Adu-Poku is into the last year of his contract at Vicarage Road and is bidding to earn an extension during a season-long temporary switch.
Young midfielder Kiefer Gorman has also departed, heading to west London to sign for Brentford.
Brentford B is thrilled to confirm the signing of midfielder Kiefer Gorman from Watford on a permanent deal, subject to EFL, FA and Premier League approval 📝
Welcome to west London, Kiefer 🫡
✍️ Full story -> https://t.co/lSW2tNDjEf pic.twitter.com/Gg2pEsmGEo— Brentford Academy (@BrentfordFCPDP) September 2, 2026
The left-footed 17-year-old has been snapped up by the Premier League club for £50k and has signed a three-year deal - a move the Hornets were unable to stop from happening, despite the playmaker being highly-rated.
In addition, it is understood Zavier Massiah-Edwards is also set to depart the club.
The winger was involved in first-team pre-season but has not featured in any competitive squads under Dionisi and will now continue his career elsewhere.
Massiah-Edwards made five first-team appearances for the Hornets, all handed to him by Tom Cleverley across the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons, as well as starring in the FA Youth Cup semi-finalists team in 2025.
The departures follow an exit for Amar Sanghrajka, which was announced last week.
The decision made to scrap the Under-21s and downgrade the academy to Category Three earlier this summer provides little opportunity for the likes of Massiah-Edwards and Adu-Poku to develop away from the first-team glare, though the club believe the setup was not producing enough first-team talent to make it worth persevering with.
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