Reports have suggested that Watford have had a bid of £7 million for Derby County midfielder Will Hughes accepted.

New Watford boss Marco Silva is looking to add his own spin on the squad before the start of the next Premier League season and the 22-year-old is said to be high on his wish list this summer.

Time to make the step up

Since making his debut for the club as a 16-year-old in 2011, Hughes has been hyped up as the next big thing in English football. However, it has not quite worked out for him. This is largely down to a serious injury in the 2015/16 season which saw him spend eight months on the treatment table.

Despite last season being one of his worst in a Rams shirt, he has still made 165 appearances for the club with majority of these coming in The Championship. During this time, he has scored nine goals and scored the third goal in Derby's 3-0 demolition of bitter rivals Nottingham Forest in December last year.

The fact he has made so many appearances for the club, makes him very experienced for a player of his age. He has also featured for England at both Under 17 and Under 21 level. He is currently away with the Under 21s at the UEFA EURO Under 21 tournament at the moment and came on as a substitute in their 3-0 win over Poland last night.

Taking all the above factors into account, an initial fee of £4.5 million, rising to £7 million for Hughes is a very astute deal for Watford. It has left Derby supporters feeling that they could have got more for one of their star assets.

Rowett trimming Derby's squad

Derby manager Gary Rowett has already spoken this summer at looking to trim his squad ahead of the upcoming season as the Rams look to mount a serious push towards promotion after coming close on several occasions in recent years.

He is said to be willing to listen to offers for the likes of Jason Shackell, Richard Keogh, Darren Bent and more who are all big earners at the club. Winger Abdoul Camara has also recently left the club by mutual consent. The likes of Tom Ince and Cyrus Christie have also been linked with moves to the Premier League with Ince being heavily linked with a move to Huddersfield Town.

However, Hughes was a player Rowett did not want to lose and was firmly in his plans for next season. Despite this, he has 'reluctantly' accepted the bid and will now be on the search for a replacement. He has stated that he wants to make another couple of signings before the start of the season and a new midfielder may now be one of his priorities.

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About the author
Sam Straw
VAVEL Championship Editor. Journalism Student at The University of Sheffield. Nottingham Forest Season-Ticket Holder. Contributing to VAVEL UK since October 2016.