Watford boss Adrian Boothroyd hopes the success of Ben Foster will help to attract the top English youngsters to Vicarage Road.

Foster was virtually unknown when he joined the Hornets on loan from Manchester United - who had signed him from Stoke for £1million - in the summer of 2005.

But Foster returns to Old Trafford this summer as one of the best goalkeepers in the country after earning his first England cap against Spain in February - and Boothroyd believes Foster's achievements can only work in Watford's favour.

"I would point to Ben as proof that big clubs to send players on loan here, safe in the knowledge they will develop and get experience they might not get in a Premiership club's reserve team," said Boothroyd.

"We are in a far healthier position financially than we have ever been, despite the fact we have been relegated.

"But when we tried to buy young talent, as we did with Ben Foster two years ago, we were gazumped by Manchester United, because he will only ever sign for one club.

"We have to find different ways of doing things, and the loan system helps us.

"If the top clubs decide they want to sign all the promising young players, we have to try to get them here on loan."

Boothroyd's team will be one of the favourites to make an immediate return from the Coca-Cola Championship, and the Watford manager has already begun to identify his summer transfer targets.

Crystal Palace winger Jobi McAnuff and West Ham defender James Collins have been frequently linked, along with Norwich's Wales international forward Robert Earnshaw.

But Boothroyd is also keen to sign the kind of experienced players who can cope with the relentless struggle which characterises the Championship.

Boothroyd continued: "We need experienced guys who can cope with the grind of the 46-game season, and we also need young talent.

"It is very difficult to bounce back straight away. We are in a stronger place than ever before, but there is also a level of expectation.

"We are in a far better place than we have been in recent years, despite the fact we have been relegated.

"But when we are trying to sign new players, we will have to sell a longer-term view.

"Players want to play in the Premiership immediately, because - like everyone else - they see it as the promised land.

"So we have to tell a prospective signing, 'Give us a year and we'll be there', as opposed to, 'we'll be there straight away'."

The 'parachute payment' - granted to teams in the first two seasons after their relegation from the Premiership - will enhance Watford's spending power considerably next term.

Boothroyd continued: "There is money there to spend.

"I haven't asked the chairman or the board for a figure, because it may be that I turn out to want more than what I ask for.

"I will keep my powder dry and keep going back.

"It is about being prudent but ambitious at the same time, and balancing the two."