Multinational Watford look to top flight and a solid financial future

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Under fire for using foreign players, Watford march on and their backing by the Pozzo family could make the difference

In a bitingly cold, otherwise empty Vicarage Road this week on Wednesday, Gianfranco Zola, former Chelsea, Napoli and Italy playing legend turned Watford manager, watched with hands clasped behind his back as his eclectic squad of nationalities skipped through a nine-a-side training joust. The goals were squeezed into less than half the pitch, but the players were relishing the game, exhibiting an intricacy of skills.

Matej Vydra, the 20-year-old striker who has scored 20 times in Watford's eye-catching ascent to third place in the Championship, was away on international duty with the Czech Republic, but several of his seven fellow loan players from the Italian club Udinese were in the session. Joel Ekstrand, the Swedish central defender, was passing the ball unruffled; Fernando Forestieri, the Argentinian forward whose loan from Udinese was converted to a permanent signing in January, prowled constantly for a goal past Jack Bonham, the 19-year-old Watford academy graduate. Geoffrey Mujangi Bia, on loan from Standard Liège, crossed high and looping, and as the ball came down, Alex Geijo, another Udinese loanee, smacked a clean left-foot volley meatily into the net.

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