Will Hughes has completed his move from Watford to Crystal Palace, becoming the latest part of Patrick Vieira’s squad shakeup at Selhurst Park.
Will Hughes Completes Move From Watford to Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace Very Active in the Transfer Market
After Roy Hodgson‘s retirement from football management at the end of last season, Crystal Palace hired former Arsenal and Inter Milan midfielder Patrick Vieira.
The Frenchman was in charge of Nice between 2018 and 2020, and was linked with the manager job at Bournemouth when Jason Tindall was sacked at the beginning of 2021, but waited it out and ended up landing the job at Selhurst Park.
Vieira has not been scared to splash the cash since he was hired, spending a total of £45 million on player signings without any sales to balance the books.
Among those to have joined the Eagles this summer are highly-rated youngsters Marc Guehi and Michael Olise, who came from Chelsea and Reading respectively, while 25-year-old centre-back Joachim Andersen is the other notable introduction to the squad, moving from Lyon.
Vieira has also picked up Chelsea youngster Conor Gallagher on a season-long loan. Gallagher recently revealed that the Arsenal legend’s position at Palace was the only reason he chose the Eagles over Leeds United, who were also keen to secure his services for the next year.
Now, Vieira has completed his seventh signing of the window, with Hughes joining from Watford.
The reported £6 million fee that the South London side will pay for their latest signing will take their overall transfer spend this summer above £50 million.
Watford have already replaced the 26-year-old with former Tottenham Hotspur central midfielder Moussa Sissoko, who was told at the start of the summer that he was considered surplus to requirements.
Vieira confirmed that an agreement had been reached for Hughes on Friday, but only now has the Englishman’s move become official with the completion of a medical.
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