Walter Mazzarri has been brilliant with his signings in the mid-season with most of the fresh faces impressing in the league within the first few starts. And the most impressive of the lot has been AC Milan loanee winger M’Baye Niang.
The French international has been on fire since arriving from Italy, scoring once and assisting once in two back-to-back Premier League wins and Mazzarri is now reportedly willing to get the player on a permanent basis with the Hornets ready to pay £13.5million for the player.
Walter Mazzarri has stated the 22-year-old forward ‘as if he were my son’, and he wants to see him take the wide role at Vicarage Road for the long run. And the player has also not shied away from expressing his desire to play in England.
He said, “It’s always been my dream to play in the Premier League. I came to Watford to stay long term because it’s a nice club and I want to show what I can give them. I’m very happy for my first goal and I want to score more in this stadium. The fans were warm to me and the atmosphere was nice. We have to keep going and hopefully get another win. I’m very happy with two important results but it’s not finished.”
Niang linked up well with Troy Deeney on Saturday crossing for the Watford captain’s opener against Burnley and then scoring the second with a cleverly flicked header, which proved to be the winner after the Clarets had pulled one back through Ashley Barnes’ penalty on Saturday. Niang was also pretty impressive in his big game against Arsenal where the Gunners right-back Gabriel found it difficult to shake him off the ball down the right flank.
However, what could be quite concerning for Watford is Niang’s affinity to injuries and erratic form. The winger had started the 2015-16 season brilliantly at Milan with his vibrancy and sublime skills, but soon succumbed to injuries and his progress was heavily thwarted. And there is always a chance of him facing a similar fate in England, where playing style is characterised with grätsche.
At 184cm, the 22-year-old could also be a decent aerial threat in the air and has a deadly left foot and Watford could surely gain from his presence. A move to England could be more or less permanent as Milan are reportedly eyeing a €20m offer for Lazio’s Keita Balde, with the long-term ambition of replacing Niang,
