Watford accept record Swansea offer for Danny Graham

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Swansea could be set to smash their transfer record after having a £3.5million bid for striker Danny Graham accepted by Watford.

Brendan Rodgers, a long-time admirer of Graham, initially saw a £3m offer rejected by the Hornets soon after Swans gained promotion to the Barclays Premier League courtesy of last Monday's play-off final victory over Reading at Wembley.

But the south Wales club returned with an improved offer which Press Association Sport has confirmed Watford accepted over the weekend, paving the way for talks over personal terms with the forward who bagged 24 league goals last season to top the npower Championship's scoring charts.

Swans' previous transfer record is the deal which took Scott Sinclair from Chelsea to the Liberty Stadium last summer for an initial £500,000 which has the potential to rise to £1m with add-ons.

There are no shortage of suitors for Graham's services, with Watford having previously rejected bids of £2.5m from QPR and West Brom.

And although the path is now cleared for the 25-year-old to talk to Swansea, rival parties will be alerted to the £3.5m figure accepted and may now launch similar bids.

A statement on Watford's official website, http://www.watfordfc.com, reads: "Watford Football Club confirms that it accepted a £3.5million bid for Danny Graham from Swansea City FC over the weekend.

"This means the player is permitted to talk to the Swans about his future.

"The 25-year-old striker remains under contract at Vicarage Road in the meantime."

Graham started his senior career at Middlesbrough and enjoyed loan spells with Darlington, Derby, Leeds, Blackpool and Carlisle before securing a permanent move to Brunton Park in the summer of 2007.

A healthy strike rate for the Cumbrians convinced current Swans boss Rodgers to lure him to Watford two years later when he was in charge of the Hornets.

And Rodgers all but completed his capture before parting ways himself at Vicarage Road in the summer of 2009 to take the reins at Reading.

But the Northern Irishman's admiration for Graham has remained and he attempted to lure the marksman to south Wales last summer only to be denied.

Graham, named in the PFA's Championship team of the year for 2010/11, has found the net 41 times in 98 appearances in total for Watford and has one year remaining on his contract.