Watford's decision to sign Andre Gray for a club-record fee has unfortunately proven to be a disastrous piece of business by the Hornets.

The Hertfordshire outfit paid £18m to sign the striker from Burnley in 2017, a club-record fee at the time, with the Jamaican joining on a five-year contract.

Since then, he went on to make 125 appearances for Watford, in which he managed a measly 21 goals and eight assists, which is far from good enough when you consider the fee they paid.

Last season saw the striker manage just five goals in 30 appearances despite Watford's promotion to the Premier League and following the arrivals of Emmanuel Dennis, Josh King and Ashley Fletcher, it always seemed likely that he would be surplus to requirements in Xisco Munoz's squad.

He joined QPR on a season-long loan late in the summer transfer window and it seems likely at this point that he will leave Watford at the end of the season when his contract expires.

Transfermarkt currently values Gray at just £3.6m, with the forward enduring a steep decline since 2019 when he was valued at £13.6m by the same outlet.

Watford fans will be hoping that the 30-year-old can impress at QPR and convince them to make his move permanent in January but any potential fee that the Hornets could receive for the striker will surely be well below the £18m they paid.

When you consider that Gray rattled in the goals during spells at Luton Town, Brentford and Burnley, it is disappointing that he has performed so poorly at Watford and it is perhaps a surprise that he has remained at the club for so long, as it has been a bit of a nightmare spell for the Jamaica international.

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