Emmanuel Dennis has joined international teammate William Troost-Ekong in the Watford squad as they commenced their pre-season campaign on Monday.
With the presence of the Super Eagles vice-captain, the 23-year-old would be hoping to settle down quickly at Vicarage Road.
Following their promotion to the Premier League last season, manager Xisco Munoz will be hoping to lead the Hornets to an impressive 2021-22 campaign.
To achieve that, the manager met with his players for the first time at the Watford training ground. The assembly had Dennis and Troost-Ekong in attendance as well as Ben Foster plus captain Troy Deeney.
After five seasons at Club Brugge where he won two Belgian First Division A titles in the 2017–18 and 2019–20 seasons, he joined the Vicarage Road giants on a five-year contract.
A switch that saw him become the eighth African in Munoz’s squad after Troost-Ekong (Nigeria), Tom Dele-Bashiru (Nigeria), Adam Masina (Morocco), Isaac Success (Nigeria), Ismaila Sarr (Senegal), Imran Louza (Morocco) and Kwadwo Baah (Ghana).
His failure to tie down a regular place at the Jan Breydel Stadium saw him getting loaned to FC Cologne for the 2020-21 campaign.
Nonetheless, he struggled to get regular playing time at the Bundesliga outfit – featuring in nine German elite division games with no goals to his credit.
During his time at Club Brugge, he scored a brace as the Blue-Black held Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw in a Champions League game played two seasons ago.
In the process, Dennis became the third Nigerian to score against Los Blancos in the European club competition.
Others to have achieved this feat are former Nigeria internationals Yusuf Ayila and James Obiorah.
In addition, his first strike against the Spaniards was the earliest goal scored by the Belgians in Champions League history.
Dennis could make his debut when Watford take on Colchester United in a friendly encounter on July 16. Subsequently, they will take on West Bromwich Albion, Stevenage, Nantes, Dover Athletic and Serie A giants Udinese.
They will begin their campaign with a home game versus Aston Villa on August 14. The Claret and Blue Army boast Marvelous Nakamba (Zimbabwe), Trezeguet (Egypt) and Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso) in their ranks.