Emmanuel Dennis:Will St. James’ Park Come to His Rescue?
Nigeria international, Emmanuel Dennis has never hidden the fact that he wants to continue playing in the Premier League despite failing to save Watford from being relegated to the Championship last season. However, his £20 million price tag could be a hindrance to his dream
Watford sporting director, Cristiano Giaretta has revealed that Emmanuel Dennis will leave the club if a sizable offer arrives this summer.
Dennis has been linked with a move to Everton in recent weeks as Frank Lampard looks to freshen up his squad. The former Club, Brugge star is under contract at Vicarage Road until June 2026.
The forward scored 10 times and claimed six assists in 35 games last season – his first campaign in English football. But that wasn’t enough to prevent Watford from being relegated to the Championship.
Giaretta claims Dennis is not causing the club any problems despite informing the Hornets of his desire to leave the club. He and Ismaila Sarr were the standouts for Watford last season but have both been linked with moves away from Vicarage Road as a result.
Sarr has been linked with Newcastle United since January and Dennis has recently been offered to the Magpies following the Hornets’ relegation. The Watford chiefs reportedly value the Nigerian striker around the £20-30 million mark, despite picking him up for £3-4 million last summer.
The 24-year-old was the top scorer for the Premier League strugglers last season, scoring 10 goals and notching five assists. Dennis also famously scored a brace at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid in the Champions League but has been unable to hit those lofty heights.
Speaking to the Watford Observer, Giaretta said: “It’s highly likely that if they are here when the season starts, they will be available for first-team games if Rob chooses to select them. They would like to leave and have been looking at potential moves, but they are not causing us any problems.
“They are not banging on our door to get away as soon as they can. They will stay at the club if the market doesn’t deliver something we think is acceptable, in the same way Sarr stayed with us the last time we were in the Championship.”
Meanwhile, Football Insider has reported that Everton are not lining up a move for Dennis, after the 24-year-old has been linked with a switch to Everton this summer as a potential replacement for Richarlison.
Newcastle United and West Ham have also been suggested as potential destinations.
However, Everton are not currently prioritising the capture of Dennis, even though Watford have confirmed he wants to leave.
The Nigerian international has not travelled to the Hornets’ pre-season training camp in Austria as he seeks a move away from Vicarage Road.
A price tag of £20 million will reportedly be enough to prise Dennis away from the Hertfordshire club this summer following their relegation from the Premier League.
Lampard is in the market for a striker following the departure of Richarlison last season after the Brazil international joined Tottenham for a reported guaranteed fee of £50 million – with a further £10 million in add-ons potentially payable.
Everton’s only summer signing thus far has been a free transfer swoop for centre-back James Tarkowski and Lampard will be targeting a number of further additions as the Merseysiders attempt to put last season’s relegation scare firmly behind them.
Leeds United had earlier shown interest in Dennis after securing their top-flight status and are looking to rebuild an attack that failed to flourish last season.
Transfer insider, Dean Jones then claimed that the Whites could potentially look to sign Dennis ahead of next season.
Aside from having the worst defence, Leeds possess a lame attack that has only outscored seven other teams in the division, with only Brazil’s Raphinha managing double figures of goals.
The top priority for the club’s chiefs will be strengthening the defence and attack, and transfer expert Jones believes Dennis is one player Leeds could make a move for to boost their output in the future.
Dennis can play anywhere in attack, is fast, tricky, and was recently crowned the nutmeg king in the Premier League.
The former Cologne star took the Premier League by storm last season, scoring 10 goals and registering five assists in 27 league matches, directly involved in almost half of Watford’s goals this term.
Indeed, his performance also caught the eye of a number of big clubs, including Spanish LaLiga side, Villarreal, according to a report on Daily Mail.
Dennis has emerged as one of the bargain signings of the summer transfer window, with Watford paying four million euros to Club Brugge to sign the striker.
West Ham captain Mark Noble labelled Dennis’ early strike in the Hammers’ 4-1 rout of Watford a great goal when the Hornets suffered their fifth successive loss in the Premier League despite their Nigerian talisman giving them the lead.
Dennis fired a rising shot into the top corner to break the deadlock after evading the challenge of Craig Dawson, taking his tally in the top-flight to eight goals in the process.
Speaking to BBC Sport post-match, the Hammers captain said: “They started with a great goal from Dennis but then I think we controlled the half and deserved to go 2-1 up.”
Only Liverpool’s Egypt winger Mohamed Salah has had more goal involvements than Dennis in the Premier League last season.
Indeed, Arsenal icon Ian Wright highlighted the importance of Dennis to the Watford side after the red-hot striker scored again in a 4-1 loss to West Ham United in a Premier League clash at Vicarage Road.
The Nigerian international had a hand in 66.7 per cent of the goals Watford scored last season.
Statistically, those numbers clearly show Dennis’ importance to Watford.
Speaking on Premier League Productions’ Premier League Wrap, Wright said: “At the start Tim Sherwood mentioned that Dennis is the one if anything could happen it’s probably going to come from him.
However, despite being linked with several clubs none have shown serious intent to price the Nigerian away from Vicarage Road.
