Zola planning January cull

Head Coach Gianfranco Zola says he will use the January Transfer Window to cut his over-sized squad down to a more sensible number.

At present the Hornets have 42 professionals on the books, although there are currently eight players away from the club out on-loan.

Speaking to The London Evening Standard at the Gaffer Academy event, Zola admitted that he would look to utilise the January Window to off-load a number of fringe players.

'Sometimes it is not easy to manage this squad, especially when it comes to the day before the match when you need to train with just 20 players at the most," admitted the Italian.

"It is our plan to reduce the numbers in January. It is really not good for me or for the players if we stay with a squad like this.

"There will always be a lot of players not getting involved and that is not nice for anyone. I think in January we will see what the situation is and we would then want 25 players maximum including the young players."

With the squad being boosted by 14 loan arrivals, Zola's figure of 25 players would leave the Hornets with 11 players registered to the club permanently, assuming none of the loanees are cut from the squad.

Nathaniel Chalobah's loan is due to expire in January, but after becoming a key figure in the side since his Deadline Day arrival, he looks likely to stay.

Left-back Jean-Alain Fanchone looks like one of those who could find his time at the club cut short, the acid test surely coming tomorrow with the Frenchman the only left-back at the club.

So who's in danger? Who would you like to see moved on? Let us know by commenting below!