Summer transfer window dates are confirmed

Make a note in your diaries for Friday, June 14 – but don’t expect it to be busy with Watford news.

That is the date the EFL have confirmed for the official opening of the summer transfer window, which will then close on Friday, August 30, at 11pm.

With the opening round of fixtures in the Football League taking place on August 10 and 11, it will mean there is room for potentially three or even four Championship games to be played, as well as a round of the Carabao Cup, before the transfer window shuts.

That is still considerably less than at the start of the 2022/23 campaign, when Watford played seven league games while the window was still open as the season began earlier and more games were squeezed in to allow for the World Cup break.

Emmanuel Dennis started both of the first two fixtures that season, before heading off to join Nottingham Forest.

For those who like to look even further ahead, the winter transfer window will open on January 1, 2025 and close on Monday, February 3, 2025, at 11pm.

That means this coming season’s January window will actually be a couple of days longer than the campaign just gone, when it closed at 11pm on February 1.

Whether more time equals more business remains to be seen of course.

The League One Play-Off takes place this Saturday (May 18), after which Watford fans will know if they have a trip to Bolton Wanderers or Oxford United next season.

The last time the Hornets played at the Reebok Stadium was February 14, 2015, when they came from 2-1 down to win 4-3 thanks to a 90th-minute Troy Deeney goal.

You have to go even further back for the last league match away at Oxford: that was on March 13, 1999, when Graham Taylor’s Watford drew 0-0 at the Manor Ground before going on the run that eventually took them to the Wembley Play-Off Final and the Premier League.

Only once have Watford played at Oxford’s new home, the Kassam Stadium, and that was a win on penalties in the league cup on September 15, 2020, after Ken Sema’s 89th-minute goal had earned a 1-1 draw in normal time.

That game saw defender Toby Stevenson play one of his two senior games for the Hornets, Dan Phillips made the second of five outings, and travelling fans would have also witnessed one of the 13 appearances Marc Navarro made for the club.

A certain Joao Pedro came off the bench that night too, making just his seventh Watford appearance.

On Sunday, the final round of Premier League fixtures will be played, and barring some freak results Luton’s relegation will be confirmed, meaning they join Burnley and Sheffield United as dropping back to the Championship.

With all three of last season’s promoted clubs coming back down, it will mean – unless there are changes in the summer – two of the last four Watford head coaches (Rob Edwards and Chris Wilder) will face them next season.

The Championship Play-Off Final will take place at Wembley on Sunday, May 26, after which the full composition of next season’s Championship will then be known.

Fixture release day for the 2024/25 season will be Wednesday, June 26, with details being available at 9am.

Although not all next season’s runners and riders are known, SkyBet have already opened their Championship 24/25 Winners market, and Watford’s odds are a seemingly skinny 16/1.

That makes them fifth favourites, behind Burnley (7/1), Middlesbrough (12/1), Sheffield United (12/1) and Coventry (14/1).

The market excludes the four teams still involved in the play-offs as well as Luton, Oxford and Bolton, so Watford’s place in the market is likely to change.

However, SkyBet currently rate Watford as more likely Championship winners next season than Hull (20/1), Preston (33/1), Bristol City (28/1), Cardiff (33/1), Millwall (28/1) and Swansea (25/1), all of whom finished above the Hornets this season.