There are some transfer rumours that seemingly refuse to go away every season until finally, years after the first rumour, the player does move just to a totally different club he was first linked to. Enter Will Hughes.
Manchester United are probably the best example of being linked with a player so much that you start to believe they must have signed, Nicolas Gaitan and Ezequiel Garay were announced as United players several times by Portuguese press over the the years.
Wesley Sneijder was also destined for Old Trafford on a few occasions. Arsenal have been signing one of Gonzalo Higuain or Karim Benzema for the past five years and Robert Lewandowski is always moving to Real Madrid.
Manchester United's Wesley Sneijder. Image: PA
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Slightly lower down on the glamour signings is Derby County's Will Hughes who, at just 22, seems to have been linked with a move to Anfield for the past five years.
Instead the central midfielder hasn't moved out of the Championship. According to the Telegraph his six year spell as a first team regular for County is set to come to an end in the next few weeks with Watford close to an agreement for the player.
The paper report that Hughes, who is currently playing for England at the European U21 Championships, will make the move to Marco Silva's side for around £8 million, rising to £10 million.
Hughes at 16. Image: PA
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The player's agent is former Watford midfielder Paolo Vernazza, who played at Vicarage Road between 2000 and 2004, and that plus the promise of first team football is like to sway Hughes to move to Hertfordshire.
Last year the player suggested he would only move to the top league in England if he was sure of first team football saying, "I've been linked with every team under the sun since I was 16 but I haven't really wanted to go anywhere.
"You look at players in the Premier League at big teams, turning 20, 21, and not getting a sniff. I think some of them are happy now to pick up the money, sit on the bench for the under-23s, wish their career away...I couldn't think of anything worse. "
Looks like Marco Silva will get his man. Image: PA
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Derby will generate enough money to buy the players they need to push for the Premier League next season.
Hughes joins a long line of players to move but not where everyone thought they'd go for years. Gaitan will be there to welcome him to the club, just not the same one...
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Watford, Liverpool, Derby County