Watford face financial investigation over Kamara’s transfer to Udinese

Watford are set to face a financial investigation over Hassane Kamara’s transfer to Udinese. 

The 29-year-old joined the Hornets from Nice for £3.6 million in January 2022 when they were playing in the Premier League. 

However, after they were relegated to the Championship, the Ivory Coast international was sold to Udinese for £16.9m in the summer transfer window.

The left-back immediately re-joined Watford on loan for the 2022-23 season. He has made 26 Championship appearances as his side push to gain promotion to the top flight. 

Kamara’s huge transfer fee has raised concerns among the other clubs that the Hornets are trying to circumvent financial regulations.

The English club and Udinese are owned by the Pozzo family who were one of the first groups to adopt a multi-club ownership system. 

The family also owned Spanish outfit Granada between 2009 and 2016. 

According to inews, the EFL will review Kamara’s transfer to ensure the fee wasn’t inflated to pump more money into the club. 

If the fee is deemed not to represent ‘fair market value’, the figure in Watford’s accounts would be adjusted to reflect his actual value. They would also have to bear the costs of undertaking the valuation. 

The Hornets released a statement on their website after the story was published, suggesting they have nothing to hide and would welcome any review. 

“The story says nothing other than repeating the rules relating to transfers involving related parties,” the statement read.

“Of course, we expect the EFL to examine all transactions. This is normal. Kamara was independently valued in Italy as it’s a related party transaction, so it’s already been assessed.”

Watford recently appointed Chris Wilder as their new manager after parting company with Slaven Bilic. 

The Croatian boss was sacked after he led Watford to a single win from their previous eight league matches. 

They are currently 10th in the Championship table but are only four points off the play-off places.