Manager Adrian Boothroyd revealed he hopes to keep Ashley Young
at Watford on loan for the rest of the season if he is forced to
sell the forward this month.
The Hornets accepted a bid for Young earlier this week, only for
the England Under-21 international to reject the chance to move
from Vicarage Road.
Other clubs have also seen offers rejected but Boothroyd is eyeing
a deal which would allow Watford to keep Young on loan for the
remainder of the campaign as they attempt to survive in the
Barclays Premiership.
I would rather have cash, players and Ashley - until the end of
the season, said Boothroyd. There are no buts - that is what I
would like.
I am a realist - some of the time - and I have to accept that it
might not happen.
But we will have to see what comes in.
The best way to do it is to try to have your cake and eat it. Get
some money, keep your best players, work things out and stay in
this league.
That is the plan.
I think Ashley will be here in February but it is difficult for me
to look into the future and know what will happen.
Ashley knows what he wants from his life and from his career, and
he obviously did not think [the offer] was the place to get what he
wanted, continued the 35-year-old Boothroyd.
At the moment, I have a player who wants to stay - even though you
do not know what is around the corner.
It is good that he thinks so much of Watford that he wants to stay
until a better offer or a bigger club, in his eyes, comes in.
Do I think there is that club? Yes, of course there is. Ashley
knows my best-case scenario and I know his.
Players who come here do not come as an end product. They come to
develop and to go on to bigger things, because this is a breeding
ground for talent.
Many fans were disappointed to see the club accept a bid for Young
but Boothroyd insisted Watfords status as the smallest club in the
Premiership left them no option but to agree to the offer.
He added: Some fans might find it a little strange and I can
understand that.
But this club is the smallest club in the Premiership and it was
not even the biggest in the Championship.
We do not want to get into financial problems, as we have in the
past.