Watford seem to be on the brink of completing their transfer shopping after signing up Younes Kaboul and Roberto Pereyra in quick succession. Manager Walter Mazzarri has been tasked with converting the side into a stable mid-table club and after an unexpected 12th place finish last term, he is certainly under pressure to deliver. With all the teams in the League strengthening considerably, it was a matter of when, not if Watford would go for experience in defence and more adventure up top. Even after a handful of transfer ins, the team did not look like necessarily being better than last season in terms of quality and unpredictability and that is exactly what they have achieved through the dual transfer.
Watford have shown glimpses of promise in the two matches they have played till now but are yet to record their first win as of yet. They went mighty close against Antonio Conte’s Chelsea, where a win would have been of extra significance to their manager. The Hornets have shown the tendency to start brightly with the opening goal scored in both the matches by them. But their inability to add to that or hold on to the slender lead has cost them a match and almost cost them another point against Southampton.
Mazzarri has secured the signing of the former Tottenham Hotspur defender Younes Kaboul who is expected to bring much needed experience into the backline. His leadership qualities will also be invaluable to the side as they aim to improve their Premier League position this season. Kaboul was a mainstay in the Sunderland team last season in their relegation battle but was lured by Mazzarri’s project at Vicarage Road in addition to his personal reasons for shifting South. He is likely to slot into the three-man defence employed by his new manager.
Kaboul will be joined by Roberto Pereyra, who was signed from Juventus in a club record £10.4m deal. The 25-year old is an exciting addition to the Watford side and underlines their ambitions this season. The player has earned 10 caps for Argentina and has featured for Juventus 68 times scoring 6 goals in the process. He was blighted by injuries last term and subsequently lost his starting berth, but was a big part of Juventus’s success before that. He had helped them to two Serie A titles and two Copa Italia titles and was a second-half substitute in the Champions League final defeat to Barcelona in 2015. He is likely to line up behind the strike-force duo of Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney. The position is being currently being occupied by Capoue, who has been really impressive thus far, netting both of Watford’s goals. But he is likely to be shifted to a more conventional midfield position after the new arrival.
We look at how Watford could line-up after the latest acquisitions.
