http://africanfootball.com//news/629621/New-Watford-coach-keen-on-Ghanas-Alhassan-Wakaso? Younger brother of the bloke who was at Celtic for a short period 23 year old defensive midfielder who plays for Rio Ave in the Portuguese Primeira Liga
Do we really need another Defensive mid!?? Surely Capoue, Suarez, Watson, Behrami is sufficient and no doubt Doucoure can cover there if needed.
He looks excellent judging by this video though - very quick and sharp in the tackle and with an eye for a forward pass: [video=vimeo;150737032]https://vimeo.com/150737032[/video] At 1 minute it shows him winning some good challenges against Renato Sanches of Benfica who just went to Bayern for a truckload. He scores a cracking goal at just after 2 minutes as well. As much as we are already well stocked for defensive midfielders, I'd wager that he'd be an upgrade on all of them bar perhaps Capoue (though I've no idea about Doucoure). He could be our Kante...
We need world class additions in every position. If that means we have to sell people on our books then that could happen.
He's hardly proven world class though is he? Played in Portugal his whole career for middling teams. Behrami, Capoue, Suarez have better CVs than him. I think we should be focusing on other areas of the team.
Behrami, Capoue, Suarez are all much older and look to be on the way out as far as their careers go . This guy's just turned 24 and won his team's player of the year this season, so could have the potential to step up a level or two still.
You should always take an opportunity to improve the squad, even if it's a position you are reasonably covered in. Teams that don't do that stagnate. I have no idea whether or not this chap is better than what we already have, but if the recruitment team think he's better than our current options then not taking action to bring him in would be a bit silly. It's not like the recruiting team aren't looking at every other position too.
If Suarez is "on the way out" then we've made a catastrophic mistake giving him a 4.5 year contract! Capoue is only 27 so should be in his prime.
It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that a Hertfordshire club, in possession of a good fortune, must be in need of a ball playing defensive midfielder.
Well Capoue seems to be at his peak now, and I'd say he was our best midfielder anyway, so okay I'd exempt him from those midfielders we should be looking to replace soon. As for Suarez, us giving him that 4.5 year contract really does seem bonkers. There is a good player in there somewhere, and I've more hope for him than Jurado (not that it's really saying much), but he didn't look up to the pace of the Premier League for the most part when he stepped in and I have reservations as to whether a preseason with us will make enough of a difference. At his age maybe we were a step too far.
Good players are not necessarily past it at 30. Carrick at 34, Gareth Barry at 35 and Yaya Toure at 33 for instance can still perform at the top level
I'd like us to sign Afikenwa (34) just to see whether London Colney would survive a fight between Deeney and him. Gino should WhatsApp him.
Sure is m8. In fact it there is no possible combination of playing staff that would appear to render it untrue.