Watford technical director Ben Manga has left the Championship club.
The Athletic revealed on Monday that Manga and his team were increasingly likely to leave following discussions earlier in the day.
Watford owner Gino Pozzo appointed Manga in December 2022 to work alongside existing sporting director Cristiano Giaretta.
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But the Italian has had the arrangement under review for the last few months and Pozzo has now made the decision to restructure the department.
“The club thanks Ben and his team for their contribution during the duration of their tenure, and offers its best wishes for the future,” Watford said in a statement on Thursday.
“It was more a case of how we wanted to work, rather than anything to do with the people,” Watford head coach Valerien Ismal added.
“If you see something isn’t working out, for any reason, then you have to take a decision that you believe is the best for the club.”
Manga, who previously worked at Eintracht Frankfurt, was appointed alongside assistant coach and head of scouting Helena Costa, as well as Raffael Tonello, who was in charge of academy recruitment.
When Manga made the move from Germany, eight other scouts joined the Watford ranks.
Manga had four more years remaining on his contract at Watford and a severance agreement had to be finalised with him.
When Manga was appointed, there was uncertainty as to how the division of responsibilities would unfold. Internally it is known that the new arrivals and existing members of the hierarchy did not see eye to eye on some issues.
The new recruitment team were directly involved in only a small number of additions since their arrival. Henrique Araujo and Joao Ferreira arrived from Benfica in January 2022, with Ismael Kone signed from Montreal.
But their impact was reduced in the summer due to the club’s limited budget for new signings. Manga did play a role in the appointment of Valerien Ismael, however, with the head coach last week signing a contract extension.
Watford are 20th in the Championship table after winning twice in their opening 11 league fixtures.
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