Watford agree £18.5m deal with Burnley for striker Andre Gray who could make debut against Liverpool

Gray is set to become Watford’s seventh signing of the summer and is in line to make his debut in the Premier League opener against Liverpool on Saturday with Troy Deeney likely to be missing as he recovers from groin surgery.

Burnley were forced to accept Watford’s third bid for Gray, as the 26-year-old only had 12 months on his Clarets contract remaining and had rejected a new deal.

West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur had shown an interest in Gray, but it was Watford who made a firm move and convinced the former Luton Town man that Vicarage Road is the right destination.

Gray scored nine Premier League goals for Burnley last season to help them avoid relegation from the Premier League, despite serving a four-game ban for homophobic tweets he posted in 2012.

His arrival comes on the back of Watford clinching the £11.2m signing of Brazilian winger Richarlison. But Watford still hope to keep hold of captain Deeney, who has been linked with moved to Leicester City and West Bromwich Albion.

New Watford manager Marco Silva has been non-committal over whether or not Deeney will remain as captain under him and has not offered any promises over his future.

But Watford would ideally like to keep Deeney in the hope that he and Gray can help each other score a number of goals.