Ismaila Sarr Rennes 2018-19Getty Images

Watford complete club-record €35m Sarr signing

Watford have completed the signing of Rennes forward Ismaila Sarr in a deal worth a reported club-record fee of €35 million (£32.3m/$39.2m) including add-ons.

The 21-year-old has been a target for the Hornets throughout the summer and was part of the Senegal team that reached the final of the Africa Cup of Nations.

He becomes the second attacking arrival at Vicarage Road in as many days following Danny Welbeck agreeing a three-year deal with the Premier League club following his release from Arsenal.

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Sarr has signed a five-year contract with Javi Gracia's side after a superb campaign in France during which he scored 13 goals and laid on 11 assists in 50 appearances across all competitions.

Those performances helped Rennes secure the Coupe de France as well as enjoy a run to the last 16 of the Europa League, where they were knocked out by Arsenal.

Sarr becomes the fourth major signing of the summer by Watford, with Craig Dawson and Tom Dele-Bashiru joining Welbeck in committing their futures to the club over the summer.

Last season's beaten FA Cup finalists are looking to improve on a campaign that saw them finish 11th in the Premier League having previously flirted with a potential European finish.

And, with no major first-team players having departed the club during the transfer window, the hope will be that a top-half finish can be secured in 2019-20.

Sarr, who plays predominantly on the right-hand side but has figured on the left and through the middle as a central striker, will be key to helping them reach that aim.

He joined Rennes from Metz in the summer of 2017 and made a total of 77 appearances for the Ligue 1 outfit.

Sarr has also made 18 appearances for Senegal, and forms part of a fearsome frontline alongside Liverpool star Sadio Mane.

He may not be the final arrival at Watford on deadline day, though, with Tottenham full-back Danny Rose having been linked with a shock move to the club where he enjoyed a loan spell earlier in his career.

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