Claudio Ranieri has left Watford after just 112 days in charge with the club expected to announce his successor as head coach within the next 48 hours.

Watford’s players were given time off after the shambolic 3-0 home defeat at home to Norwich City which sealed Ranieri’s fate but will return to training on Tuesday afternoon. It is unlikely the new head coach will be in place by then but an appointment is understood to be imminent.

The club is working its way through potential candidates and are looking at managers who are out-of-work and therefore readily available. However, the search is complicated by the tightened rules following Brexit, which may explain why a new head coach has not immediately been announced, while it is believed Watford are considering British coaches on their list.

One name on the shortlist is Diego Martinez who enjoyed success in Spain with Granada before allowing his contract to run down. The 41-year-old has been discussed by the Watford board twice in the past and was under consideration before Xisco Munoz was hired.

Ranieri knew he would be leaving after Friday’s dismal 3-0 defeat at home to relegation rivals Norwich City with Watford dropping into the relegation zone for the first time this season.

"Watford Football Club confirms the departure of Head Coach Claudio Ranieri," the club said in a statement on Monday.

"The Hornets' Board recognises Claudio as a man of great integrity and honour, who will always be respected here at Vicarage Road for his efforts in leading the team with dignity.

"However, the Board feels that, with nearly half of the Premier League campaign remaining, a change in the Head Coach position now will give a new appointment sufficient time to work with a talented squad to achieve the immediate goal of retaining Premier League status.

"No further club comment will be made until this new appointment is confirmed in due course."

Bristol City boss Nigel Pearson has confirmed that free agent centre-back Timm Klose is on trial with the club.

Klose, 33, has been without a club since being let go by Norwich City before the start of the 2021/22 campaign.

Bristol City are in the market for another defensive addition after Nathan Baker was ruled out for the long-term, and it seems Klose is being considered as an option.

As quoted by Bristol Live, Pearson remained coy on the situation, confirming that Klose is with the club but refusing to elaborate on the details of the matter.  When asked if the experienced defender is on trial, he said:

“Yeah it is but I won’t comment on anything else.”

Given the Swiss defender’s level of experience in the second-tier, he could prove to be a shrewd acquisition for the Robins.

He spent four-and-a-half years on the books with Norwich City, helping them win promotion to the Premier League in the 2018/19 season. The German-born centre-back played 128 times for the Canaries across all competitions, with 100 of those outings coming in the Championship.

Klose has also spent time on the books in Germany and Switzerland.

With Klose available as a free agent, Bristol City won’t have to pay a transfer fee for his services, and it could prove to be a deal worth pursuing.

He has struggled with injuries and fitness previously, but he could be a decent signing for Pearson’s side as he looks to bolster his defensive ranks before embarking on the rest of the campaign.

Norwich City are said to be keeping tabs on a 17-year-old striker making waves within Portsmouth’s youth ranks.

Dan Gifford has scored 11 goals in 13 appearances in the Youth Alliance League this season, along with three goals in as many cup games and a staggering nine in three friendlies.

The youngster, who turns 18 this month has also had a taste of senior football whilst on loan with non-league side Bognor Regis Town.

His impressive run has attracted the interest of a number of clubs in the Premier League and Championship, with Hampshire Live reporting Norwich City are among those keeping a watchful eye on the youngster's progress.

Queen’s Park Rangers and Middlesbrough have also been name-dropped but it is believed the list extends beyond those three clubs.

Hull City and Millwall could help put an end to Jordan Hugill’s frustrating loan spell at Championship rivals West Bromwich Albion, according to reports.

The Norwich City striker has had a difficult season at the Hawthorns with just one goal in his 20 league appearances.

Hugill appears to have fallen down the pecking order in recent weeks too, with his last appearance for the Baggies coming as a substitute in the 1-0 defeat against Derby County on December 27.

The 29-year-old didn’t make it off the bench against Cardiff City and was not included in the matchday squad for the trip Queen’s Park Rangers last weekend.

Norwich boss Dean Smith has been in contact with Hugill about the situation and revealed that things could “potentially change” before the January transfer window comes to a close.

“I had a chat with him and just got his feelings on how he was at the time,” said Smith.

"He’s a little bit frustrated, obviously because he has not been playing at West Brom. He’s been in and out of the team.

“When players go out on loan they go out to play football games and get the minutes required and obviously at the moment he is not so I said it is something we will look at.”

Norwich City are said to be keeping tabs on a 17-year-old striker making waves within Portsmouth’s youth ranks.

Dan Gifford has scored 11 goals in 13 appearances in the Youth Alliance League this season, along with three goals in as many cup games and a staggering nine in three friendlies.

The youngster, who turns 18 this month has also had a taste of senior football whilst on loan with non-league side Bognor Regis Town.

His impressive run has attracted the interest of a number of clubs in the Premier League and Championship, with Hampshire Live reporting Norwich City are among those keeping a watchful eye on the youngster's progress.

Queen’s Park Rangers and Middlesbrough have also been name-dropped but it is believed the list extends beyond those three clubs.

Hull City and Millwall could help put an end to Jordan Hugill’s frustrating loan spell at Championship rivals West Bromwich Albion, according to reports.

The Norwich City striker has had a difficult season at the Hawthorns with just one goal in his 20 league appearances.

Hugill appears to have fallen down the pecking order in recent weeks too, with his last appearance for the Baggies coming as a substitute in the 1-0 defeat against Derby County on December 27.

The 29-year-old didn’t make it off the bench against Cardiff City and was not included in the matchday squad for the trip Queen’s Park Rangers last weekend.

Norwich boss Dean Smith has been in contact with Hugill about the situation and revealed that things could “potentially change” before the January transfer window comes to a close.

“I had a chat with him and just got his feelings on how he was at the time,” said Smith.

"He’s a little bit frustrated, obviously because he has not been playing at West Brom. He’s been in and out of the team.

“When players go out on loan they go out to play football games and get the minutes required and obviously at the moment he is not so I said it is something we will look at.”

Rafael Benítez has been sacked by Everton, following the club’s disastrous 2-1 defeat by fellow strugglers Norwich City. His departure leaves majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri seeking his sixth permanent manager in six years.

The Norwich defeat means Everton have taken just five points from their last 12 games, leaving them in 15th, just six points from the relegation zone. Benítez leaves with a win percentage of 26% – the worst record of a permanent manager since Howard Kendall’s ill-fated third spell at the club.

“Everton Football Club can confirm the departure of Rafael Benítez as First Team manager,” read a brief statement. “Benítez, who joined Everton in June 2021, has left the club with immediate effect. An update on a permanent replacement will be made in due course.”

Duncan Ferguson, who took temporary charge following Marco Silva’s dismissal, former manager Roberto Martínez – who was sacked by Moshiri in 2016 – former Granada coach Diego Martínez, José Mourinho, Niko Kovac and Wayne Rooney may all be considered by Everton’s erratic owner.

Everton fans unfurled a banner at Carrow Road calling for Benítez to “get out of our club” and they got their wish on Sunday, with the former Liverpool manager lasting just over six months of his three-year contract.

Benítez became the most controversial managerial appointment in Everton’s history and only the second man to have managed both Everton and Liverpool after Willian Edward Barclay in the 19th century. He received personal abuse and threats before signing the contract in June 2021, and Merseyside police investigated a banner that warned “We know where you live” but was left outside the wrong house near the Spaniard’s family home in Wirral.

The 61-year-old, however, received a warm ovation before his first home game at the helm but a dreadful run of form, a fall-out with Lucas Digne and tactics combined to turn many more against him. He leaves Everton just days after the club sold Digne to Aston Villa for £25m and following the departure of Marcel Brands as director of football and Danny Donachie as head of medical services.

Birmingham City have announced this afternoon that Onel Hernandez has joined on loan from Norwich City.

The Cuban winger has agreed terms that will see him play the remainder of the 2021/22 Sky Bet Championship season in the Second City (subject to league and FA clearance) after spending the campaign’s first-half at Middlesbrough.

He checks in with two promotions to the Premier League as a Norwich player on his CV, having helped them to win the second division title on both occasions as he recorded 20 goal contributions in 73 outings at this level for the Canaries.

Hernandez went on to be the first Cuban to take to the field in the Premier League and the first of his countrymen to net in the English top flight when he scored against 20-times champions Manchester United.

Prior to his arrival in England, the 28-year-old had forged a career in Germany, the country to which he emigrated from his homeland as a child. This saw him represent a number of clubs at youth level, going professional with the last of these, Arminia Bielefeld, under the stewardship of former Middlesbrough, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool player Christian Ziege.

Further senior action at SV Werder Bremen II and VfL Wolfsburg II in the Regionalliga Nord, as well as for 2. Bundesliga club Eintracht Braunschweig followed to the tune of 153 appearances before he was lured to Carrow Road by Daniel Farke in January 2018.

After a number of successful years under the German’s management in East Anglia, the international was loaned to Middlesbrough last August where he appeared 18 times for the Teessiders.