Last January, Watford signed Scottish defender Porteous from Hibernian. Since then, the 24-year-old has made 42 appearances for the Hornets, earning a spot in Valerien Ismael’s starting lineup this season.
When he arrived, he signed a contract until the summer of 2027, but it now appears that a move to sister club Udinese is possible.
According to a new report from Sky Sports, Udinese could attempt to bring Porteous to Serie A if a player from a foreign team is unavailable. The ownership link between the two teams would most likely make a trade reasonably straightforward to complete, yet it would be a setback for Watford to lose a player who has started 21 Championship games so far this season.
Centre-back options
With Porteous eyed by sister club Udinese, Watford could be at risk of being left seriously light on options at the back. The Scot is alongside Wesley Hoedt, Francisco Sierralta and Mattie Pollock as the natural centre-backs at Vicarage Road.
On top of that, the latter mentioned Pollock is said to have requested a transfer away amid limited game time. A sanctioned exit for him and a swap to the Serie A for Porteous would leave Ismael with just two senior centre-backs.
That’s something Watford must avoid, especially with less than a week remaining in a challenging January transfer window. Porteous has been one of Ismael’s go-to players over the season so far, so losing him halfway through the campaign would be a big blow and would pose a tricky task of finding a replacement in the closing stages of the transfer window.
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