Watford have sold Hassane Kamara to Udinese for a fee around £16million, but he will be immediately loaned back to the Championship side.
It is not uncommon to see players loaned back as part of a transfer deal, although it seems more notable given the links between the two clubs, and the fact that the defender only joined from Nice in January.
Udinese and Watford have strong links owing to the fact that they are both owned by members of the Pozzo family, with father Giampaolo owning Udinese, and his son, Gino, owning Watford.
The Serie A club do not even have an option to recall the 28-year-old defender, according to the Watford Observer.
The report suggests the move will inject money into the Hornets, allowing them to keep Ismaila Sarr this summer, as well as help strengthen their cash flow after losing more than £60m of turnover since dropping out of the Premier League.
Sarr's proposed £25million move to Aston Villa collapsed recently and the Hornets have also moved to strengthen their squad with the addition on Kortney Hause on a season-long loan deal.
The Senegal international was due to undergo a medical with Villa, but they were unable to agree a payment structure with the Hornets and the player's demands have proven to be too difficult to overcome.
Watford's player of the season Kamara, meanwhile, will remain at Vicarage Road for the rest of this season - having featured for the Hornets four times already this season.
Kamara was attracting interest from other club, but it is believed that due to the links between the clubs, Watford were able to request both the loan back for this season and to have the full transfer fee paid now.
Chairman & CEO Scott Duxbury said of the deal: 'This further protects the club at a time when balancing financial wellbeing and retaining a squad to compete at the top end of the Championship are our top priorities.
'Taking Rob's guidance, we'll review our options at the end of this season once divisional status is confirmed.'
This is the second transfer completed by the two clubs this summer after Adam Masina joined the Serie A outfit earlier this summer.
Kamara will likely replace 19-year-old Destiny Udogie, who is back on loan at Udinese, after completing a £15million move to Tottenham.