Watford midfielder Louza leaves for Panathinaikos

Greek side Panathinaikos have signed Watford's creative midfielder Imran Louza for a fee in the region of £7m on a four-year contract.

The 27-year-old played 20 minutes in a pre-season friendly against Fiorentina last month but did not feature in a competitive game for the Hornets this season.

He was instrumental for Watford last year, scoring seven goals and providing nine assists in 42 Championship matches, establishing himself as one of the league's best players.

Louza had been captain of Watford but new head coach Alessio Dionisi chose to name centre-back Mattie Pollock as skipper before the start of this season.

Louza initially joined the club from French side Nantes in the summer of 2021, heading back to France in January 2024 for a five-month loan spell with Lorient before returning to Watford that summer.

He has featured in 81 games over the past two seasons.

Born in France, Louza has represented Morocco at international level.