Riveting banter regarding the Pozzos' scouting, transfer and business acumen aside, has there been any word on where he'll play this fall?
The period of the year that comes after summer - beginning with the autumnal equinox and ending at the winter solstice. This period of time is typically bracketed by transfer windows wherein we see sweat covered men and boys being traded by swarthy old fat men for sums of money most of us couldn't carry out of a bank vault if we were given a trolley and 15 minutes free rein.
Just noticed that last year he was featured in the Guardian's 'Next Generation 2019: 60 of the best young talents in world football' list of players born in 2002. Lots of the players featured on such lists don't out to be big hits, and there are lots of random choices of players on there from countries such as Malaysia and Uzbekistan, but interesting nonetheless. Here was the write-up on him last year: "Even among the wealth of prospects that Africa turns out each year, Djibril Fandjé Touré appears to be a once-in-a-generation talent. He was starting for the Guinea Under-17s at the age of 14 and finished as the top scorer in the 2017 Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations. He may not be dominant in the air but he has a long-striding athleticism and is a predatory finisher. He operates best when running into space behind defenders to get a clear sight of goal. Last year Touré left Guinea to train in Sweden and, according to reports, could well be on his way to Roma." Also, then this: "October 2020 update After spending some time training on his own in Sweden last year, the lanky Guinean forward finally signed for Watford. Touré penned a five and a half year contract with the Hornets and will officially call Vicarage Road home from next January." https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...0-of-the-best-young-talents-in-world-football
Has this bloke turned up yet? He's supposed to officially join this month isn't he, it's just a case of whether he can play in this country!
Who knows? Seems like we signed him but we didn't sign him as he was under 18 but he was going to be signing as soon as he was 18 and then he might or might not be headed to England to play for us from the 1st January depending on the work permit situation. My guess... we'll never hear of him again. https://t.co/ZB0jZlneSb?amp=1 Edit: seems he turned 18 in November so we could officially sign him then so it depends on whether we could register him before 1st Jan (where he probably wouldn't get a work permit) or after 1st Jan (when he definitely wouldn't).
The link you have isn't working for me @Steve Leo Beleck so I had a quick google. After that I searched on line to see if I could find news anywhere else regarding Touré joining this month. The article below (from December 29) suggests he's already training with the squad so, if true, all relevant paperwork must be in place. It also says he cost the princely sum of €20,000. https://oambidestro.pt/2020/12/29/jovem-promessa-djibril-fandje-toure-o-novo-etoo/ Young Promise: Djibril Fandjé Touré, the new Eto'o December 29, 2020 Alexandre Ribeiro Djibril Fandjé Touré , Guinea , Watford Djibril Fandjé Touré, recently signed with the English at Watford and is already seen as one of the greatest promises of African football. Touré was born on November 1, 2002 in the city of Conakri, in Guinea. Soon he joined the club of his land, CEFOMIG, and with only 14 years old he made his debut in the main team. The good performances did not slow down and the quality and potential were impossible to ignore. In 2017, still 14, Touré deserved a call to Guinea's under-17 team for the African Cup. He was a totalist in the competition and helped his country win third place, with two goals scored. Later that same year, he was called up for the U-17 World Cup, where, despite having captained his team and despite the pair of goals and assistance recorded in three matches, he was unable to overcome the group stage. On October 1, Watford and CEFOMIG reached an agreement for the player, and an amount of around (“only”) 20 thousand euros was enough for the player to make the jump and pack for His Majesty's land. Currently, at a tender age of 18, the Guinean player has yet to make his debut in the first team, despite having trained under the new Hornets' coach, Xisco Muñoz. With the club struggling to rise to the Premier League, Touré could be one of the biggest promises of the top English league next season. Touré acts preferentially in the center of the attack, however plays comfortably down to any of the wings. With his short stature (1 meter and 74 meters), Djibril is extremely fast and combines his speed with a deadly scent of goal. Despite playing well with both feet, he prefers the right and it is with him that he blinds opponents and finishes in an exemplary way. The quality is there and it is undeniable that it has it, the debut for its main selection and for the senior team of Watford will certainly be soon. Djibril Fandjé Touré, memorize the name that, in the future, you will hear a lot about him.
Well that will teach me to keep banging on about us having no money to spend this season! We've only gone and blown €20,000 on this guy!
Some of these much'praised African kids live up to the hype, some are rated the best of their generation but don't - Freddie Adu and Ade Coker for example. Let's hope it's the former - a small quick striker is just what we need
Yes. In about 4 years he’ll be ready to play for us. In 4.25 years he’ll be ready to 1/ sell or 2/loan to the Belgian second division.
Pretty handy in FM21. But then again Dele-Bashiru has 17 long shots, better than Coutinho. Not sure what to believe.
In that context, 'long shot' refers to the likelihood of them ever returning from injury a competent footballer.
There is nothing on the official club site that I can see about this guy, but as you have a great knowledge of the u23's & u18's I am inclined to take great store from what you have posted above Mr. Recluse. I sincerely hope you are right because this lad looks **** hot, in fact I think there is a video of him further back on this thread which is well worth a look. I know he is very young, but if he has joined us, and from what I have seen of him I would not be surprised to see him featuring in the first team squad sooner rather than later, and possibly even this season.
Thanks VoR. I've no idea if he's officially at the club now, merely posting a link from a Portuguese site which claims he's here & training. His initial signing and news thereof was back on 29/9/20 where he was a mere footnote to Troost-Ekong joining. Scroll to the bottom of the page in the link below and that's pretty much it as far as the club site is concerned. https://www.watfordfc.com/news/official-hornets-sign-troost-ekong-youngster-toure Not too much officially on twitter that day either. https://twitter.com/WatfordFC/status/1310974307741372418?s=20
And there was some on here moaning that we don't spend money on non-Pozzo players in the Championship. This must be mighty embarrassing for them
This may mean that Gino won't feel the need to make any more signings to refresh our forward line, in the hope that Toure comes good this season. There is of course a genuine dilemma. Spend money now on Prem-standard players in the hope that we go up but whose wages we may not be able to afford if we don't, or stick with what we've got for the time being and risk not going up in a season when promotion might be vital. The January window is traditionally a bad time to invest in new signings, but this year may be different as other clubs may be even more desperate than us. Them there's the possibility of loan players who want to feature in the Euros but aren't getting game time. The transfer window may be very interesting. Or not.
The interesting bit is 5 and a half years - usually the half comes when someone joins in January - he signed September So does that mean that he signed Sept for a contract starting JAN 1/21?
Exactly that. If you click the link to the piece from the official site, his signing is announced behind Troost-Ekong and it says what you've surmised... 'The 17-year-old, who has represented Guinea at youth international level, will join the club on January 1, 2021 from Ceffomig FC.' (https://www.watfordfc.com/news/official-hornets-sign-troost-ekong-youngster-toure)
I wonder if the fact we got the deal done in October makes any impact? Either that, or his success at youth level got the WP over the line
Anyway, he's got to be worth a shot, no? Resigned myself to the fact that Deeney is playing every game until his legs fall off, but surely this guy is better than Gray?