Valerien Ismael says he was surprised by the departure of sporting director Cristiano Giaretta in the build-up to the 2-1 defeat by Ipswich Town.The Italian, who'd been at the club since the 2020-21 season has left for a new opportunity with Cypriot club Paphos explained here."It (was) surprising for everyone," Ismael told The Athletic. "But we respect that when someone gets an offer and wants to leave then this is the same for a player, manager or someone from the from the board."Giaretta has been replaced by former sporting director Gianluca Nani, who has returned after nine years away from the club."I have to accept the decision but behind the scenes the club works straight away (for) a solution," says Ismael. "So we started already to discuss about a lot of situation but the main work is made in the club structure."Ismael says he doesn't expect the change to impact how the club operates in the January transfer window."Everyth
It is increasingly likely that Watford technical director Ben Manga and his recruitment team will leave the Championship club following discussions on Monday.
Watford owner Gino Pozzo appointed Manga in December 2022 to work alongside existing sporting director Cristiano Giaretta.
But the Italian has had the arrangement under review for the last few months and The Athletic understands Pozzo has now made the decision to restructure the department.
Manga, who previously worked at Eintracht Frankfurt, was appointed alongside assistant coach and head of scouting Helena Costa, as well as Raffael.