Watford youngster Jack Grieves is set to stay at the club despite interest from clubs including Celtic and Brentford, Football League World has been told.

Who is Jack Grieves?

The forward is very highly-rated at Vicarage Road, having come through the ranks and impressed at the younger age groups. His form with the development side also saw the 18-year-old train with the first-team, and he made two substitute appearances in the Championship last season.

However, with his deal expiring this summer, there had been doubts about the future of Grieves, and FLW explained that Glasgow giants Celtic and Premier League Brentford were keeping tabs on the player.

But, we can now reveal that the boyhood Hornets fan is deciding to stay up, and he will snub the advances from other clubs to commit his future to Watford.

Will Jack Grieves feature for Watford this season?

Obviously, the long-term aim for Grieves will be to make his mark on the first-team, and the fact he has been offered fresh terms means the club think he is capable of making the step up in the years to come.

But, a lot has changed at Watford in the past few months, with Valerien Ismael in charge, whereas it was Chris Wilder who gave the attacker a chance on the final day, whilst his minutes prior to that came under Slaven Bilic.

So, like the rest of the squad, Grieves will have to impress the new boss, but it does seem highly likely that his game time next season will continue to come with the development sides. Then, it’s down to the player to try and force his way into the senior squad.

What does this mean for Watford?

In the bigger picture, this is finally some good news for Watford as there have been plenty of question marks about the academy.

The Hornets saw 16-year-old left-back Harry Amass leave to join Manchester United, whilst another talent from the academy, Adrian Blake, has opted to sign for FC Utrecht as he seeks a clearer path for the first-team.

That had been a real source of frustration for the fans, who are keen for youngsters to push through the ranks to be a part of the squad in the years to come. Plus, it’s never a good look for a club if they can’t keep hold of a lad who is a fan and has a connection to the club as Grieves does.

 

Watford summer transfer plans

 

This is unlikely to impact the business Watford does this summer, as they will certainly view Grieves as an option for the future, so it’s about helping Ismael with players that can improve the squad right now.

Losing Joao Pedro was a big blow, whilst Keinan Davis has also departed after his loan spell, and there are doubts about the future of Ismaila Sarr. So, you would imagine attacking reinforcements are a priority for the club in the next few weeks.

Watford begin their Championship campaign at home to QPR on August 5.