According to reports, Premier League side Watford are still keen on landing Benfica star Andre Carrillo on a temporary basis as new boss Marco Silva grows desperate to add more attacking reinforcements before kicking off the season in two weeks’ time. The Liga NOS winger has found it difficult to break into the first team in his debut season in Portugal and a move might be on the cards.
Watford’s great start to the season was turned upside down by their horrible second half display. The Hornets survived relegation only just as they finished in the 17th place with just a six-point gap between them and Hull City. Walter Mazzari was sacked at the end and the former Hull City manager Marco Silva has taken up the job.
And the Portuguese manager hasn’t wasted much time in getting targets as Watford already completed five major signings. Apart from making Tom Cleverley’s deal permanent from Everton, Watford have brought in young goalie Daniel Bachmann, who has arrived from Stoke City, right back Kiko Femenía from La Liga side Alves, midfielders Nathaniel Chalobah from Chelsea and Will Hughes from Derby County.
However, all of those have been defensive reinforcements and given that Watford had conceded a whopping 68 goals last season, is understood too. But they could also score only 40 goals last season and Silva needs to solve that fast. The attacking duo of Stefano Okaka and Troy Deeney were clearly not enough to take Watford to the shore last season and they were extremely lucky in not going down.
Mazzarri was unfortunate too, as his star winter signing Mauro Zarate was sidelined indefinitely with a cruciate ligament injury as soon as he took the ground. And Silva’s move for Carrillo, more than planning, looks like an urgency.
The 26-year-old Peru international moved to Benfica last summer itself from Sporting CP. And while his previous stint with Sorting CP went quite well with 16 goals and 39 assists in 162 appearances, Carrillo has failed to make any such impression in Benfica in the first season. In his 20 appearances for them, which were mostly from the bench, the player managed just two goals and an assist.
Carrillo was an academy product of Peruvian side Alianza Lima before Sporting brought him in 2011. A right winger by nature, the player can also play on the left wing as well as a centre forward. Watford have one of the most under average attack in the league and the return of M’baye Niang to AC Milan further slashed their potential by half.
