Watford winger Steven Berghuis is on the verge of joining Dutch side Feyenoord on a season-long loan.
The Netherlands international has struggled to make an impact for the Hornets during his first season at Vicarage Road since his move from AZ Alkmaar last summer.
This pre-season, Berghuis has played a number of games and has been impressive, but it appears to be that Watford want him to get game time next season and come back.
Berghuis hasn’t made desired impact
The winger has only made one start for the Hornets since his transfer in 2015, and that was back in January when former boss Quique Sanchez Flores led his side past Newcastle United in the FA Cup.
The rest of his eight appearances have came off the bench and has shown encouraging signs, including a stint against Aston Villa.
New head coach Walter Mazzarri is intent on playing a new formation, and has deployed the 3-5-2 system throughout the Hornets’ four pre-season games so far.
This may well be the reason behind Berghuis’ loan move to Feyenoord, as the two wing-back positions will more-than-likely be occupied by new signings Juan Camilo Zuniga, who is on loan from Napoli, and Brice Dja Djedje.
Winger set to make loan move to Feyenoord
The latter arrived last week from Marseille after a summer of speculation, but the problem Berghuis has is that with the wing-back role, it involves both attacking and defending.
Zuniga and Djedje look to be more suited to the two roles, and Berghuis may not fit into the Italian coach’s plans this season.
Berghuis played 45 minutes in the pre-season opener with non-league side Woking, and told the club’s official website that playing games is always the best.
The winger went on to start both of the next two games against Stevenage and Union Berlin respectively, however, didn’t play a part in Saturday’s goalless draw with Anzhi Makachkala.
This is because, according to reports in the Dutch media, Berghuis is expected to complete his loan move to Feyenoord in the next few days.