Chelsea have allowed Caleb Wiley to complete a loan transfer to Watford on deadline day.
Having signed for the Premier League giants in July for a fee in the region of £8.5m, Wiley was loaned out to fellow BlueCo-owned club Strasbourg.
While the hope was that the United States international would emerge as a first-team regular, a knee injury restricted his opportunities under Liam Rosenior.
A total of three starts and three substitute outings were made in Ligue 1, none of those appearances coming since November 24.
As a result, Chelsea have cut short the 20-year-old's time in France and sent him to Watford on a similar deal.
Welcome to Watford, Caleb Wiley! 👋
— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) February 3, 2025
The @USMNT defender signs on loan from Chelsea until the end of the season 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/QuqdkCm0wX
What has Cleverly had to say?
At a time when Tom Cleverley is allegedly under pressure to keep his job at Vicarage Road, he has talked up the arrival of the former Atlanta United prospect.
Speaking to the club's official website, Cleverley said: "Caleb's a really athletic left-back with great technical quality – as you'd expect from a Chelsea player.
"He's coming here having been playing at a high level with Strasbourg in the French top flight.
"And he's exactly the type of player that's going to give us great competition in that area of the pitch."
Cleverley added that Wiley may not come into contention until the back end of February courtesy of an injury that will keep him sidelined for another two weeks.
© Imago
Can Wiley expect regular game time?
On the back of three straight defeats in the Championship which have left the Hornets down in 12th place in the table, Cleverley will be open-minded to making changes.
Yasser Larouci and Jeremy Ngakia have generally been the go-to options for Cleverley at left wing-back, but Wiley could get the nod when fully fit.
Darren Plant
