Watford have appointed former Barnsley and West Brom boss Valerien Ismael as their new head coach.
The 47-year-old replaces Chris Wilder, who was appointed in March on a short-term contract until the end of the season.
Under Wilder, the Hornets finished 11th in the Championship, six points from the play-off places.
Ismael was most recently with Turkish club Besiktas, having been appointed by them just a month after being sacked by West Brom in February 2022.
“Being able to appoint a new manager so early in May means we can prepare very well together for next season,” said Watford technical director Ben Manga.
“Being able to welcome someone of Valérien’s experience to Watford is good news for our club. We are all looking forward to working with him.”
Ismael left the Hawthorns with the club fifth in the Championship, after just eight months in charge.
The Frenchman took over after the club’s relegation from the Premier League in 2021, having agreed a four-year contract.
He won four of his first five games in charge, but only eight of the next 24 and some fans criticized his preferred style of play.
His approach proved successful at Barnsley, where he was appointed in the fall of 2020 and led them to the second tier play-offs before losing on aggregate to Swansea City.
Former defender Ismael played in the Premier League for Crystal Palace in 1997-98 and his coaching career also included spells with clubs in Germany, Greece and Austria.
He is Watford’s 10th head coach since 2018 and seventh since the end of the 2020-21 season.
Since Sean Dyche left Vicarage Road in 2012, Gianfranco Zola, Giuseppe Sannino, Oscar Garcia, Slavisa Jokanovic, Quique Sanchez Flores, Walter Mazzarri, Marco Silva, Javi Gracia, Nigel Pearson, Vladimir Ivic, Xisco Munoz, Claudio Ranieri, Roy Hodgson , Rob Edwards, Slaven Bilic and Wilder all had spells in charge.
