Watford Appoints Valerien Ismael As New Head Coach

Premier League side, Watford has announced the appointment of Valerien Ismael as the club’s new manager.

The 47-year-old takes over from Chris Wilder, whose short-term contract came to an end following Watford’s final Championship game of the season.

“To be able to welcome someone of Valerien’s experience to Watford is good news for our club. We are all looking forward to working with him.”

Ismael, who was born in France, has previously managed at Nurnberg and Wolfsburg in Germany before spells at Greek side Apollon Smyrnis and LASK, leading the Austrian side to a first appearance in the Champions League play-offs and a debut in the UEFA Europa League group stage, making it to the round of 16.

Ismael first moved to England to take up a management role in October 2020, guiding Barnsley to the Championship play-offs that season despite being in the relegation zone when he arrived.

Ismael was unable to replicate that success at West Brom during the 2021/22 campaign, and was sacked after just seven months in charge.

In March 2022, he was appointed as Besiktas boss, but a poor run of results in Turkey led to his dismissal last October.