Watford chairman Jimmy Russo says the club's financial situation had nothing to do with the sale of Tamas Priskin and was due to the striker not signing a new contract.

The Hornets have now confirmed the sale of Priskin to Ipswich Town for an undisclosed fee, which the Watford Observer understands is £1.7m with a 20 per cent sell-on clause.

Priskin only had one year left on his Golden Boys' contract and was offered a new deal by former manager Brendan Rodgers before the end of last season.

However, that offer was rejected by the Hungarian and when Ipswich came calling, Watford decided to cash in on the striker rather than lose him on a fee next summer.

The Hornets rejected a £1.2m bid earlier this week and although we understand the club wanted an extra £250,000 should Ipswich gain promotion, they settled for £1.7m and a 20 per cent sell-on clause.

Russo said: “Unfortunately having tried really hard to convince Tamas to stay at the club, where we felt he would have a good career, he decided he wouldn’t sign a new contract despite us making a revised offer to try and convince him he would be a big part of the club going forward.

“So in January he could have effectively signed on a free with anyone.

“We didn’t want to lose him but when a player doesn’t want to sign, there isn’t a lot you can do. The financial situation of the club was irrelevant because he wouldn’t sign a new deal.”

Priskin joined the Hornets from Hungarian-side Gyori ETO FC in 2006 for an undisclosed fee, believed to be around £1m.

The 23-year-old had struggled during most of his time at Watford but excelled under Rodgers in the second half of last season, scoring 12 goals in 25 appearances under the Northern Irishman.

The Hornets' new striker Danny Graham, whose tribunal yesterday ordered Watford to pay an initial £200,000 for for the striker, has scored five goals in his first five pre-season games.

But both Malky Mackay and Russo have confirmed the club are planning to sign a replacement for Priskin before the transfer window closes on September 1.

Russo said: “We are active in the transfer market and looking for a quality replacement for Tamas.”