Watford FC have confirmed a 12-month contract extension for Congolese midfielder Edo Kayembe in the club’s 2025/26 released and retained list.
For me, he is unworthy of such extension.
As much as I appreciate the fact that he tries, this doesn’t mean that he can get a “Free Pass” to play poorly and opinions against him not be voiced.
He lacks leadership in the midfield pack which I believe rubs off on the team and creates a mindset of not caring and the team then just rolling through the motions until the full time whistle.
We brought Edo when we were in the Premier League and unlike other fans, I never saw the positivity that surrounded him considering every week he was just another number on a team-sheet in order to get us by and try (and fail) to stay up.
He lacked physicality then and still does now. Defenders shrug him off incredibly easily and this is unsustainable in a league like the Championship which is undoubtedly one of the most physically demanding leagues in the World.
As fans, rather than accepting his poor performances, they should be scrutinized. In my opinion, we should be expecting a lot more from a player of Kayembe’s experience. The fans opinion of him being a good player, does not reflect his performances.
As all fans will know, Watford or not, the midfield is where games are lost and won, especially in a league such as ours and Kayembe consistently loses us that battle.
For example, Watford played Burnley in April 2025 and combined with former Hornets midfielder, Moussa Sissoko, they lost the ball 23 times in the first half alone.
He then later got sent off after his other “Chuckle Brother” Moussa Sissoko got sent off for dissent. That doesn’t sound like a top quality Championship player.
It is not just his poor performances, however. Kayembe is an incredibly petulant player. Whether its dissent or constant fouling, to me, he simply is not up to the expected standards of players at Watford.
To give him some credit, he has a decent long shot strike, However, this cannot overshadow his mediocrity.
It seems that fans will praise him for anything and everything and to me, this highlights a problem at the club, feeding into a culture where poor performances are accepted and rewarded.
Like myself, some other fans have not only called out the player’s poor performance but also a criticism of the football club who put the contract forward. The club have been labelled as “Cesspit FC” due to Kayembe’s contract extension.
I’m inclined to agree with this notion. Kayembe doesn’t belong to remain as a player for Watford FC and after the year is up, I severely hope that he is released and put down in History books as another terrible player to play for The Hornets.
