Watford prematurely cut ties with summer signing as mutual decision made

Watford have reached an agreement to terminate the loan of Fenerbahce midfielder Ozan Tufan, the Premier League club have confirmed.

Tufan joined Watford in the summer on a season-long loan deal after featuring for Turkey at Euro 2020. The Hornets also held an option to buy the 26-year-old if things went to plan.

Alas, they have not – and Tufan will not even be seeing the season out at Vicarage Road.

He made seven appearances in the Premier League, one in the FA Cup and one in the Carabao Cup for Watford. His most recent appearance saw him clock up 64 minutes of FA Cup action against Leicester on January 8th.

Watford lost that game 4-1. Indeed, Tufan was only on the winning side once in a Hornets shirt, when he started their 5-2 win over Everton in October.

The midfielder was not able to contribute any goals or assists during his time with Watford, despite making six starts.

Three of his appearances came under Xisco Munoz before the rest fell during Claudio Ranieri’s short spell. He will not get the chance to make any under new boss Roy Hodgson.

Now, he has returned to Fenerbahce after the two clubs came to a mutual agreement. His contract with the Turkish Super Lig side runs until 2023.

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Meanwhile, Hodgson has held his first press conference as Watford manager – and insists he believes he can guide them to safety.

He said: “I think it’s more than possible. I wouldn’t have accepted the challenge had I not believed that we can help the club stay in the Premier League.

“I’m quite confident in that respect that the work we do will have an effect. But of course the proof of the pudding is always in the eating.

“Whether it’s a wise decision or a foolish