Christian Kabasele has urged Watford chiefs to "do everything possible" to keep manager Marco Silva out of Everton's clutches.
The 40-year-old is rumoured to be the Toffees' one and only target to replace Ronald Koeman, having enhanced his reputation further during his six-month spell in Hertfordshire.
Despite losing three games on the spin in the Premier League, Watford can still be happy with their start to the campaign as they sit ninth in the table on 15 points, memorably beating Arsenal along the way.
Kabasele is under no illusion just how important Silva is to the Hornets' hopes of success this term, telling Sky Sports News: "Everybody could see he changed a lot of things in the team. We had quite a lot of the same players but we improved a lot.
"That means he worked very well with us. When you have somebody like this and other teams are looking for him it's important that Watford try to do everything possible to keep him."
Silva, who has no break clause in his two-year Watford deal, is preparing his side for Sunday's visit of strugglers West Ham United.
