Watford have snapped up striker Andre Gray from Premier League rivals Burnley.
Watford today smashed their transfer record to sign Burnley striker Andre Gray, with The Guardian reporting that the Hornets have splashed £18.5million on the forward.
Marco Silva’s men have placed a strong focus on buying English talent this summer having already landed Nathaniel Chalobah and Will Hughes, and that has continued with today’s deal for Gray.
Andre Gray (R)
Gray, 26, has enjoyed a meteoric rise in recent years. After smashing 57 goals in 111 for then-non-league outfit Luton Town, Gray went on to Brentford and scored 20 times in 52 outings to earn a big money move to Turf Moor.
With Burnley, Gray was the Clarets’ top scorer in their 2015-16 promotion campaign with 32 goals in 41 outings, and he followed that up with a nine-goal campaign in the Premier League last season, catching the eye for Sean Dyche’s men.
However, with just a year left on his contract, Burnley have been forced into selling Gray, with Watford paying a huge fee – and many fans of rival Premier League clubs can’t believe just how much they have paid for the former Wolves youngster.
One team also linked with a move for Gray was West Ham United, with The Mirror reporting last month that the Hammers were preparing a £15million move for the striker before landing Javier Hernandez from Bayer Leverkusen.
Hammers fans took to Twitter throughout the day to react to Gray’s move, celebrating the fact that a proven goalscorer in Hernandez joined West Ham for £2.5million less than what Watford paid for Gray.
Some still wanted Gray to join West Ham as another attacking option, but the general consensus is that West Ham got a much better deal with Hernandez, even with wages factored in.
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