JAY Spearing is set to leave Wanderers on loan – with Championship rivals Watford poised to sign him until the end of the season.

The exodus in Neil Lennon’s squad continues during the January transfer window as the club skipper joins Medo Kamara and Joe Riley through the exit doors at the Macron Stadium.

Spearing has undergone a remarkable fall from grace this season, moving from automatic first choice under Dougie Freedman to a peripheral figure in Lennon’s plans.

Freedman had planned to build his team around the “blue chip signing” made in August last year for £1.5million.

But after winning player of the season as a loanee, the midfielder’s form suffered when he made the move permanent ad despite retaining the captaincy, his opportunities have become few and far between under the current regime.

His last start for the Whites was on October 31 at Norwich City, after which he has made five appearances from the bench, the last being on December 13.

But he remains one of the biggest earners on the books – and when a deal is struck with the Hornets, it should free up space for the Wanderers boss to finally bring a significant addition to his squad.

Blackburn Rovers and Nottingham Forest have also looked into signing the former Liverpool midfielder but the fact both clubs are currently working under a transfer embargo makes an approach difficult.

Hornets boss Slavisa Jokanovic wants to add some steel to his midfield after a dip in form over the last few weeks and sees the former England Under-21 international as the right man to bolster his squad for a play-off push.

Wanderers will divert all their funds into finding a creative attacker – and could now have the financial leverage to prize Kris Commons away from Celtic.

Despite winning player of the year in Scotland last season and registering 32 goals for the SPL champions, the club are still dithering on whether to offer him more than the one-year deal currently on the table.

Lennon would jump at the chance of reuniting with his former Parkhead charge, although he would have to convince his former club to loan Commons out for the rest of the season for a fee and then agree to pick up his contract in the summer.

Manchester United’s Nick Powell remains on the radar, although he too would be an expensive option for Lennon.