Watts confirms he is staying put at United for the long haul
Goalkeeper is on loan with the Tribesmen from Championship side Swansea City
There has been a growing anxiety amongst Galway United fans about Evan Watts potentially returning to his parent club, Swansea City, during the summer, but the goalkeeper says he is with the Tribesmen for the 2026 season.
Watts and Arthur Parker are both on loan at United from Swansea City, and the goalkeeper has told the Galway City Tribune he is here for the 2026 season.
"As far as I know, it's until the end of the season," he said of the loan deal between the two clubs, "so that's what I'm prepared for in my head.
"I want to try and help this club, push on, because I really feel like we've got a good group and we should be higher up the table than we are so, yeah, in my head, I'm [here] until November.
"I'm loving it here. Since I've come here January last year, I've loved every second of it, it has been a great experience. You know, that transition from academy football to men's football is a huge step-up, you don't realise until you do it, but I feel like I've adapted to it," he said.
Swansea City confirmed as much in a post on their social media pages during the week, which will be music to the ears of United fans.
Parker is understood to have returned to the Welsh club last month for treatment on a hamstring injury, but returned to the United squad in the past fortnight, a move which the young defender has previously said had a lot to do with Watts 'selling' the United experience to him.
"I knew he was looking for that transition from Academy football to first team and I knew he'd suit here perfectly.
And, you know, like you've seen in his performances, he's been incredible for us.
"He has had a little setback with his hamstring now, but we're buzzing to have him back, and, yeah, I was happy I could help in that, it's been great to have him around the place," Watts said.
Watts says he is loving his time in Galway, and has paid particular tribute to the United backroom staff who have helped him settle into life in the City of the Tribes.
"Obviously, coming in this season with a good few games under my belt last year, I feel like it helped. I learned a bit from Clarkey," he says of former United goalkeeper, Brendan Clarke, "but huge credit to Luca [Gianluca Aimi], the goalkeeper coach, he's really helped me to push on.
"Last season, he was great with me, you know, pushing me, and this season, it's been the same again, so you know, a lot of credit goes to him. All the staff, they deserve huge credit. They work tirelessly planning sessions. I know Luca is probably the night before planning our sessions for the morning, you know, to make sure everything flows right and we get what we need leading into the game.
"It's brilliant, like, there's so many, so many people to thank behind the scenes, it's a really good club," he said.
For more, see this week's Galway City Tribune.