AC Milan loanee M’Baye Niang has his heart set on a permanent move to Vicarage Road this summer, sources who worked on the deal to bring him to Hertfordshire have revealed.

The highly rated Frenchman joined Watford on loan from the Italian giants in January and has scored twice in nine starts for the Hornets, and has caught the eye with a number of promising performances since his arrival.

The most impressive of those came in their 2-0 win over West Brom last week, when he scored a thunderbolt opener before setting up Troy Deeney for the Hornets’ second with a sublime 40-yard pass.

The 22-year-old will almost certainly leave the San Siro in the summer, and has enjoyed his spell in Hertfordshire so much that he will strive to remain at the club next year.

Watford have a £15million fee agreed with the Italian club to convert his loan move into a transfer and are also keen to keep the talented winger at Vicarage Road.

Niang was tipped as one of the brightest talents in Europe at one stage, earning himself a trial at Arsenal in 2012 when a 17-year-old at Caen, but instead joined Milan that summer.

He struggled to nail down a regular starting place during his first two seasons in Italy and spent time on loan at Montpellier and Genoa.

His most consistent spell in the Rossoneri side ironically came earlier this season, shortly before his move to England, but the Italians have made clear he will be moved out of the club before the start of next season.