Ranieri replaces Munoz at Vicarage Road

WATFORD have appointed Claudio Ranieri as their new head coach following the sacking of Xisco Munoz.

The Premier League club have announced the former Chelsea and Leicester boss has signed a two-year contract at Vicarage Road. He becomes the 13th permanent boss of the Hornets since the Pozzo family took control of the club in 2012.

Munoz was dismissed on Sunday after just ten months in charge.

The Spaniard successfully guided Watford to promotion back to the top flight last season but the start of this term did not satisfy the owners.

“The board feels that recent performances strongly indicate a negative trend at a time when team cohesion should be improving,” a statement read.

Ranieri takes over with the club 15th in the table with seven points from seven games, following Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Leeds.

The 69-year-old Italian, who famously guided Leicester to the Premier League title in 2016, brings a wealth of experience to the job.

His previous clubs include Napoli, Fiorentina, Valencia, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Roma, Inter Milan and Monaco. He has also managed the Greek national side and had a brief spell in charge at Fulham in 2018-19.

His first match with Watford will be the home clash against secondplaced Liverpool on October 16.

■ Gareth Southgate has added Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell and Roma striker Tammy Abraham to his England squad for this month’s World Cup qualifiers.

The pair will join up with the squad this morning.

Chilwell’s club team-mate Reece James has been ruled out through injury, so he and former Stamford Bridge colleague Abraham have been called up to bolster the Three Lions ranks.

England face Andorra away on October 9 followed by Hungary at Wembley Stadium three days later.

Southgate’s side are four points clear at the top of their group with four matches left to play.