Watford have sold left-back Pervis Estupinan to Villarreal for an initial fee of around £15million.

The Ecuador international, 22, arrived at Vicarage Road from LDU Quito in his home country in 2016 but has never played a game for the Hornets.

Estupinan spent last season in LaLiga on loan at Osasuna and was with Granada, Almeria and Mallorca before that.

He is now returning to Spain on a permanent basis, and Watford’s chairman and CEO Scott Duxbury said: “As (head coach) Vladimir (Ivic) has said repeatedly over the past week or so, having a squad of players 100 per cent committed to our challenge is imperative.

“Continued player trading – incoming as well as outgoing – is inevitable over the course of the next month or so, given the shortened pre-season timescales this summer.

“But that doesn’t mean our focus will be distracted. Building a fully-committed squad of players is of the utmost importance.”