Young defender heads back to Brazil for free after Watford paid €1m in summer
Young Brazilian defender Kayky Almeida has returned to his home country on a free transfer after less than six months.
The 19-year-old signed a five-year contract when he joined for a fee of €1m from Fluminense in the summer.
Despite his young age and lack of senior experience, he was even given squad number 13 in the senior list.
However, Almeida has been limited to a handful of outings for the Under-21s, and his debut came on a particularly forgettable afternoon when the young Hornets were trounced 8-2 at Sheffield United.
Almeida did score his first Watford goal in a recent Premier League Cup defeat at Cardiff City.
He has now returned to Fluminense on a free transfer and is expected to return to playing for their Under-20 side.
His agent is reported as saying that all parties felt Almeida did not settle in England and a return back to Brazil was the best way to further his progress.
Before moving to Watford, the youngster had only played one minute of senior football for Fluminense, and that was in a cup game in January 2024.
His playing experience has been for the Brazilian side’s Under-20 team, where he made 26 appearances and scored three goals over the last couple of seasons.
There has been something of a conveyor belt between Fluminense and Watford in recent seasons, and they have generally been moves that have worked very well for the Hornets.
Richarlison made the move in 2017, and three years later Joao Pedro followed the same path. Both went on to make big-money moves to Premier League sides.
Last season, the Hornets had winger Matheus Martins on loan from sister club Udinese, who they had signed from Fluminense.
“Almeida is a player I’ve not seen as much of,” said head coach Tom Cleverley, when the defender joined Watford in the summer.
“He’s probably more of a project, and someone that I don’t see us using in the short term.
“I wouldn’t be doing the lad justice if I was to throw him in.”
