Barnsley keen on deal for Watford man, says reporter

Barnsley are keen on Watford centre-back Mattie Pollock, reports Alan Nixon.

Pollock, 21, joined Watford from Grimsby Town in 2021, having since racked up three Championship outings for the Hornets.

He’s spent time on loan with Cheltenham Town and Aberdeen and it looks like he could be on the move again, with Nixon saying that League One outfit Barnsley are interested.

Nixon has revealed on his Patreon that the Tykes are ‘keen on a deal’ for Pollock following their tough start to the 2023/24 season; though whether or not they want a loan or permanent deal remains to be seen.

Neill Collins took charge of Barnsley in the summer, but since his side’s 7-0 win over Port Vale on the opening day of the season, the South Yorkshire club have taken just one point, losing their last two League One fixtures by 3-1 scorelines.

Watford also underwent a managerial change in the summer with Valerien Ismael coming in. And his side also claimed a big win on the opening day, going winless since, having lost at Stoke City yesterday.

Pollock is yet to feature this season.

A good signing?

Pollock is quite far down the pecking order at Watford and so a move this summer looks like a good option – it looks more likely that it’d be a loan move instead of a permanent one, though.

And a move to Barnsley could be exciting too – they’ve started slowly but they’re under new management, and so they should get better as the season goes on.

A player like Pollock could help them get better too, with defence seemingly being the area which Barnsley most need to bolster right now.

Ismael discusses potential injury concern for Watford youngster after Stoke City defeat

Watford boss Valerien Ismael hopes that James Morris was only suffering with cramp after being forced off in yesterday’s defeat at Stoke City.

Watford headed to the bet365 Stadium yesterday. They came up against a Stoke City side who’ve made some really positive moves in the transfer market this summer, with the Potters eventually coming out on top thanks to a second half goal from Andre Vidigal.

Just before half time though, Ismael was forced to bring off 21-year-old Morris. And speaking to the club after the game, the Hornets boss had this to say on the former Southampton youngster:

“Hopefully it’s just cramp for James, and he’ll be back for next week. It’s not a secret that we don’t have big numbers in that position, but we just have to deal with it for now. We can’t complain or make any excuses.”

Morris joined Watford in 2021. He’s since made 14 league appearances for the club with the bulk of those coming in the 2022/23 campaign.

Ismael though appears to favour the Englishman, having started him at left-back in all four of their opening games of the 2023/24 campaign so far.

Problem position

Morris has been filling in for the injured Jamal Lewis so far this season, so if Morris is sidelined for a while then it’ll give Ismael a bit of an issue in that left-back area.

But it seems like Morris’ injury isn’t a serious one and the Hornets boss will be hoping that Morris is fully fit for the next outing at home to Blackburn Rovers a week from today.

Watford are winless in their last three now and come up against a strong Rovers outfit, so Ismael will need everyone fit and firing in time for that one.

Sunday’s game kicks off at 12pm and will be shown live on Sky Sports.