Teenage striker Ryan Cassidy will spend the whole of next season on loan at Accrington Stanley in what Academy Manager Richard Thomas describes as “an enormous move” for the Republic of Ireland youth international.
The 19-year-old has signed a new two-year deal with a one-year option at Vicarage Road and will spend the first season of that deal gaining valuable experience with John Coleman's League One outfit, subject to FA and EFL approval.
“It's an enormous move for him,” said Thomas. “He's going into an unbelievable environment, with a quality senior management team and players of the calibre and character of Seamus Conneely, Mark Hughes and Sean McConville. It's a great opportunity for him and not only will it get him out into the real world, but I think he'll get minutes, too. The intensity and demands will be hugely different from Under-23s football and this move could really accelerate his career.
“We are ultra-positive about the move and he's come back in and from minute one he's shown a hunger to get out on loan. There is an element of bravery and confidence in that – plus he's come back in very, very good condition and clearly spent the off-season very productively.”
Defender Bayli Spencer-Adams has also put pen to paper on a new deal, signing a one-year contract with the option of a further year. A graduate from the Academy at Arsenal, the 19-year-old centre-half played in both FA Cup games for the Hornets against Tranmere last season.
“He got really good exposure with the first team against Tranmere and has the potential to build on that,” said Thomas. “He's good athletically and technically and now he's got to build on that and mature. We've seen signs of that already since he's come back and we've got high hopes that he can kick on.”
Homegrown winger Harry Forster, 20, has signed a deal of exactly the same length as Spencer-Adams and will be looking to kick on after injury robbed him of much of last season, a campaign that started with him joining the first team on the pre-season tour of Austria.
“I'm really pleased he is still here,” said Thomas. “He's a brilliant character to have around the place and the way he carries himself rubs off on people. He's developed physically during the off-season and now we are looking to get him a sustained run of games, whether that be here or out on loan, to develop that physical robustness to go along with his obvious technical and athletic qualities.”
Goalkeeper Adam Parkes, who was part of the first-team squad that travelled to Southampton last season, has been rewarded for being in and around the first-team picture, particularly during Project Restart, with the activation of the optional one-year extension to his contract.
“He spent the entire of the return to action with the first team and that was a real positive,” said Thomas. “He's starting to show some of the qualities we expected of him in abundance, he keeps improving and it was a no brainer to take up the option on his contract.”
Midfield powerhouse Dan Phillips, who played the second half of the friendly against Brentford before the Premier League resumed, has also seen the one-year option on his contract exercised.
“Again, he's another one who spent the remainder of the season with the first team,” said Thomas. “He was really brave going on loan to Hemel at the start of last season and then suffered a bad ankle injury. He's returned to fitness now and we have high hopes for him this season, whether that is being on the fringes of the first-team squad or finding a decent loan for him.”
Another midfielder, Henry Wise, has also extended his stay by a further 12 months after some coming-of-age performances for the Under-23s last season.
“We feel we need to give him more time, particularly as he showed great qualities for the 23s with his energy, his athleticism and his ability to make stuff happen,” said Thomas. “He is a very tidy player and it will be exciting to see what he can do this season. I'm adamant late developers should be given more time and he certainly deserves more time. We are trying to shape a culture here and Henry is very much part of that. He's at the forefront of it and he's a real leader in that sense every day.”
The 13 goals Joseph Hungbo scored for the Under-23s last season were enough to earn him a one-year extension.
“He was a huge success last season, coming in off the right and scoring so many goals,” said Thomas. “He now needs to add more to his game and make sure he doesn't become predictable. He is maturing nicely and we've got high hopes that he'll do really well in someone's first team this season.”
Dutch defender Derek Agyakwa, 18, will also be given the opportunity to build over the next 12 months on the promise he showed after arriving from FC Twente.
“Derek had a very difficult first experience in the sense that he didn't come to us until December, then we didn't get clearance for him to play until early February and then he only played twice before lockdown,” said Thomas. “But in training he showed a lot of raw materials and we may have found one here. He is very dominating in a physical sense, athletically very good and if we can piece things together tactically and technically, then he is worth keeping around and giving him a proper opportunity.”
