1. Daniel Bachmann

Daniel Bachmann joined Watford in July 2017, having spent the previous six seasons at Stoke City.

The goalkeeper’s early career was spent in his native Austria, with Admira Wacker, Sturm Graz and then Austria Wien, before a move to the Potters materialised in the summer of 2011.

He gained first-team experience through spells on loan from the Potters with Wrexham, Ross County and Bury before moving to Watford permanently.

During the 2018/19 campaign Bachmann was sent to Scottish Premiership side Kilmarnock on a season-long loan and earned rave reviews for his performances north of the border.

Bachmann had to bide his time for a Hornets debut but this finally came in an FA Cup tie against Tranmere Rovers in January 2020, with a second outing following in the replay soon after.

Bachmann began the 2020/21 season as back-up to Ben Foster but was awarded a first league start when the latter was injured in January, and he kept the shirt from thereon thanks to his impressive performances. In 23 league appearances he kept 13 clean sheets, condeding only 13 goals.

Bachmann and Foster together kept 23 shutouts between them during 2020/21, the second-most managed by the club in a Football League season, as Watford returned immediately to the Premier League. He played 12 times in the 2021/22 season, making his top-flight debut in the 3-2 opening day win over Aston Villa.

Firmly established as the Hornets’ first choice between the sticks ahead of 2022/23, Bachmann missed just one of 46 Sky Bet Championship games as the team finished 11th in the standings, contributing 16 clean sheets.

At international level, he has 16 Under-21 caps and has also been selected for Austria’s senior squad on multiple occasions, making his debut against England in June 2021 and featuring at Euro 2020.