Watford pushing to beat Championship rivals to free agent goalkeeper after League One departure

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Watford have had a very busy week, and after confirming a new manager, they have already started to push for new signings at Vicarage Road.

Following the expiration of his Peterborough United contract, Hector Kyprianou became the first new player of the Paulo Pezzolano era. The Uruguayan took over on Tuesday following Tom Cleverley’s surprise sacking earlier in May, and work is already being done to improve the squad.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
11	SwanseaSwansea	46	17	10	19	51	56	-5	61
12	Sheffield WednesdaySheffield Wednesday	46	15	13	18	60	69	-9	58
13	NorwichNorwich	46	14	15	17	71	68	3	57
14	WatfordWatford	46	16	9	21	53	61	-8	57
15	QPRQPR	46	14	14	18	53	63	-10	56
16	PortsmouthPortsmouth	46	14	12	20	58	71	-13	54
17	Oxford UnitedOxford United	46	13	14	19	49	65	-16	53

A 14th place finish in the Championship was not deemed good enough by the Hornets’ owners, and a new era in Hertfordshire is beginning once again. It is sure to be a busy few months for Pezzolano and he will need the backing of the board if the club expect to push for the top six.

With Kyprianou already through the door, another face from League One may be about to join him as Watford look to add to the goalkeeping department after conceding 61 goals in 46 games in 2024/25.

Watford lead the chase for departing Bolton Wanderers goalkeeper

Nathan Baxter’s Bolton Wanderers contract will expire this summer, and the 26-year-old is set to be released after a very disappointing 2024/25 campaign.

Despite this, several Championship clubs are interested in his services and there will be an ensuing battle for him in the next few weeks – but it is one that Watford expect to win, according to The Bolton News.

The former Chelsea shot-stopper will play back-up to Egil Selvik if a deal is agreed, and he will be looking to push the 27-year-old for the number one shirt as the season progresses.

Baxter has previous Championship experience, having played in the division in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 campaigns for Hull City, but he has spent the majority of his career in League One, League Two and the National League.

Nathan Baxter will be hoping that a fresh start will see his form recover

The goalkeeper enjoyed a strong first season with Bolton, as they narrowly missed out on automatic promotion from the third tier before going on to lose in the play-off final to Oxford United.

However, there will be fears about the mistakes he made over the course of the last 12 months, as his importance at the Toughsheet Community Stadium became less and less. He made only 26 appearances in 2024/25, keeping just six clean sheets as the Trotters finished outside of the top six.

It was clear to see that a fresh start was needed, and the Hornets can provide that. However, there are concerns over Watford’s choice in manager and with the club’s reputation of instability in the dugout, Baxter must be careful in his decision about his future.

Nevertheless, he could provide excellent competition to Selvik if he can get back to his best and on his day, he is a very dependable pair of hands.