Newcastle United suspect Matty Longstaff will end up at Premier League rivals Watford if he joins Udinese on a free transfer, sources close to the club have told Sportsmail.
Watford and Serie A outfit Udinese are both owned by the Pozzo family and have a history of trading players.
Longstaff, 20, is out of contract at Newcastle this month and would cost Udinese around £450,000 in compensation, whereas a move to another Premier League club would see the fee settled by tribunal.
Matty Longstaff looks set for a move to Watford if he leaves Newcastle United this summer
The midfield youngster has impressed in his debut season as a regular at St James' Park
The player could leave for Udinese on a free, who are have the same owners at Watford
Sportsmail has been told that figure would run close to £3million given Longstaff is an England Under-20 international and has enjoyed an impressive debut season at St James’ Park, scoring three times from 12 appearances.