Watford, Udinese agreement blossomed and ended up in £8m Derby County deal: View | OneFootball

Matej Vydra was an exceptional signing for Watford.

Key Takeaways

The early 2010s saw Watford pushing for promotion near the top end of the Championship year-in-year-out.

During that period, the club had several brilliant strikers, with Troy Deeney being the most notable.

However, another player, who perhaps flew under the radar was Matej Vydra. His two separate spells at the club saw the attacker rack up some impressive numbers, putting him down in Championship folklore.

This form, matched with Watford's stability in the Premier League, eventually saw him depart for Derby County, where he continued to be a threat in the second tier.

Now in the latter stages of his career, it seems unlikely that he will return to the shores of England, but he can always look back gleefully at his spells at Vicarage Road.

Vydra stuns the Championship

In July 2012, Watford signed a host of players from Udinese as the club's new owners, the Pozzo family, sought to utilise a loophole regarding signings from a solitary club.

After bringing in an astonishing 12 players on loan, one player in particular stood out in Vydra. He made an immediate impact in the Championship, coming off the bench for Gianfranco Zola's side to assist the equaliser and then score a stoppage-time winner in a 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace.

Affirming his place in the team, just two weeks later he scored again in a comfortable 2-0 victory over Birmingham City.

The forward continued to be a real threat alongside his strike partner Deeney, but it was during the Christmas period when he really hit top form.

A game against Nottingham Forest three days before Christmas Day saw him add his second double of the season as the Hornets secured a 2-0 victory. Following that, Vydra went on a run of nine goals and three assists in seven games, as he helped Watford continue their push for the play-offs.

Unfortunately, Vydra managed just a single goal in the next sixteen games. However, when it mattered most in the play-offs, he delivered.

He scored twice in the second leg of one of the most infamous play-off semi-finals ever, though his contribution was somewhat overshadowed by Deeney's remarkable late winner.

Yet, without the Czech-born striker, there’s no way they would have reached Wembley to face Palace a week later.

Having opened the season with a win against Ian Holloway's side, Vydra and his teammates couldn't recreate it this time, falling to a Kevin Phillips penalty in extra time.

This led to the forward's return to Udinese, having scored a remarkable 22 goals in 44 Championship and play-off matches.

Vydra returns to Vicarage Road

After an unsuccessful loan spell with West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League, Vydra returned to Watford on loan in the summer of 2014.

Picking up from where he left in a Watford shirt, the forward scored on his second debut for the club, in a 3-0 win over Bolton Wanderers.

This set the tone once again. Although Vydra didn't match his numbers from the 2012-13 season, he didn’t need to, as the potent duo of Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney combined for an impressive 41 goals.

However, this shouldn't overshadow the versatile forward's contribution, as his 16 goals and six assists were still crucial in a promotion-winning campaign.

Perhaps fittingly for the justification of this move, it was a 90th minute goal by Vydra that secured a 2-0 win over Brighton in the penultimate game of the campaign, that officially confirmed Watford's promotion.

Vydra's Championship success earned Watford profit

Following promotion, Watford opted to make the striker's loan move permanent as he departed Udinese after five years with the club.

However, he was loaned out to the Championship, where he joined Reading just a few weeks later, with the Royals said to have paid £2.5million to sign him on a temporary basis.

Unfortunately, his time with the Royals didn't go to plan, as he netted just nine goals all season, with six of those being in the FA Cup.

Seemingly, this would have reduced his potential asking price, but Watford pulled off a smart piece of business the following summer by selling him to Derby.

The £8 million they received pushed the total earnings from his temporary and permanent transfers past the £10 million mark, making it one of Watford's most successful pieces of business ever. Not only did Vydra generate significant profit for the club, but he also shone on the pitch, cementing his status as a "streets won't forget" player with 95 memorable appearances for the Hornets.