Watford appoint Dionisi as head coach

The 46-year-old Italian replaces Ed Still, who was sacked on 3 May after less than three months in charge at Vicarage Road.

Watford were thrashed 4-0 by Coventry City in Still's final game and finished 16th in the Championship, 16 points adrift of the play-off places.

Dionisi is Watford's 12th head coach, not including interim bosses, since the end of the 2020-21 season, and the 24th since the Pozzo family took over the club in 2012.

"Alessio has been on our radar for a long period and we are really pleased to have reached an agreement with him," sporting director Gianluca Nani said.

"We made it clear we were looking for an experienced coach who has won leagues and been promoted - and Alessio fits the profile."

Dionisi was sacked by Serie B club Empoli in March after only five months in charge following a run of five wins in 22 matches.

But, as is common practice in Italy, Dionisi remained under contract at the Tuscan club on gardening leave.

Watford have now reached an agreement with Empoli over his contract with them, which was set to run until near the end of 2027.

Dionisi will bring Luca Vigiani, who worked under former Watford boss Walter Mazzarri in the 2016-17 season, back to Vicarage Road as an analyst, along with new head of physical performance Fabio Spighi.

He will now embark on his 10th job in a 12-year managerial career, the first outside of his homeland.

"He is an excellent coach, who we believe has the credentials to get the best out of the players we have in the squad and those we want to add," Nani said.

"I know Alessio is really excited by the opportunity and we look forward to seeing the positive impact he will have here."

Dionisi won the Serie B title in his first spell with Empoli in the 2020-21 season before replacing Roberto de Zerbi at Sassuolo that summer.

He becomes the first Italian to manage Watford since Claudio Ranieri in the 2021-22 season, when Watford were last in the Premier League.

Last season turned out to be a turbulent one for the club.

After they dismissed Tom Cleverley at the end of the 2024-25 campaign, the club went through three permanent head coaches, as well as interim boss Charlie Daniels' two-game spell in charge.

On the morning of their final-day drubbing by Coventry last month, chief executive Scott Duxbury wrote a statement on the club website saying Watford had made mistakes, labelling their end to the campaign "unacceptable" and "truly disappointing in the extreme".

LatestWatford news, analysis and fan views