Went to watch his clips from that game and found out he wasn't even in the squad - over at London Colney signing on the dotted line?
Exactly right and we are talking 8 figures of unspecifird outgoings here. It's A LOT of money, plus 'solidarity payments' and this is just information about money leaving WFC accounts. We have no detailed information about where the money that is transferred out of WFC ends up. All we know is that our main agent is a suspected money launderer and that our owners have run up a 9 figure debt with very little to show for it.
This has been answered but surely he doesn't get a work permit? So I wonder were he's going in the mean time?
Stay where he is for a season, then move to a lightly better South American team, then to a Spanish second tier side and then back to South America when Watford will forget he ever existed.
I found out yesterday from the head of recruitment at another championship team that the rules for u21 players are vastly vastly different to those of senior players and it basically goes to an exceptions panel everytime who then discuss it with previous coaches and give character references to discuss potential etc. Since Hurtado has represented the Colombian u20 team at a highly rated youth tournament he stands a good chance of getting one imo, although I'm not sure he's Champ ready like Asprilla was.
Not a bad time to try and integrate him if we could get a work permit. Having Asprilla here will make it easier for both of them
In all honesty I wasn't 100% sure myself, whilst he really stood out and was obviously an exciting talent in the Colombian league - it's hard to gauge the difference between those sort of leagues and the PL/Champ.
I'm sure I'll jinx the lad now, but I see Asprilla as one of those players that will just get exponentially better. The way he's started his career so far has been frightening, and I would suggest he would have about 4 assists to his name had he not been surrounded by donkeys. I think if the talent is there it doesn't really matter about the quality difference in leagues. The physicality is always a key issue, but again good players adapt quickly
I think our South American scouts should be in charge of all our recruitment. Pretty much all hits so far. Not surprising as Udinese also have a big success rate there.
I think it really differs from player to player - you can have loads of talent but still be a bit raw and "need polishing" before making that step-up, especially when coming from a league abroad where the quality/tempo can be so different.
I've been blown a way by Asprilla so far. Remember Pedro at same age being nowhere near as effective. I truly think in those two we have genuinely special special players, need to be in the prem to benefit fully from their full resell values.
Absolutely. I think that's what makes Asprilla quite so exciting. A small sample size no doubt, but he's playing in the Championship the same way as he did in Colombia. The greater test will be in say, December, when the whole league know about him. He'll be getting reducers from every lumbering holding mid in the league
Asprilla has adapted a bit better than I expected so far, but I'm still not convinced he should be a regular starter for us yet. Hurtado looks more raw technically than Asprilla, but much more ready physically.
I'm much the same (although Pedro was playing in the PL at the same time though right?), although I remember watching Pedro under Pearson and definitely thought he deserved more game-time to show what he could do, I remember him being quite clever in possession, but as you said - wasn't as effective as Asprilla has been, although Asprilla is playing in a weaker league which in all honesty is probably a good thing.
I remember JP had a decent cameo on debut against Tranmere, and played a part in our goal against Southampton post-restart, but he didn't get much of a chance in the Prem (even when we were sorely missing a left-winger). The pandemic break killed us, but a small consolation for us was that it allowed him to bulk up in preparation for a season in the Championship
Ah yeah, he only had 22 mins in the PL that season, 16 of those against Southampton so think that must be the game I was thinking of.
I know nothing about this new kid. Is he on par with Asprilla or is he rated higher. Maybe @Smudger might know as he seems to know a lot about South American football?
Preston had two players on him in the first half then in the second he drifted out wide a bit to find some space. Somebody in the management team must have noticed and told him to do it which is a good sign all round on previous managers.
With the work permit, worst case even if he doesn't get one now can't we just loan him to Udinese for a few months to make one appearance off the subs' bench then bring him here?
Very difficult to compare like for like from a football point of view because they play in different positions. They're both extremely good and the club have done superbly to pick them up relatively cheaply. Personality wise they seem different though. JP is outwardly very confident and prone to showing his frustration either with himself, teammates or anyone close by! I saw him in an u23 game in his first season here and at times he cut a very isolated figure on the wing. He'd be looking over at his family or sulking around like a moody teenager (head down, exaggerated arm swinging when walking) and generally looking like a little boy lost. The ball appeared to be his only friend and I'd say, with the benefit of hindsight, not being able to communicate verbally with teammates was something he found difficult. Cameron Green belted out the odd instruction from left-back in Portuguese but otherwise it was all arm gestures. Asprilla on the other hand seems a little calmer at the moment. Sure, he shows some frustration but, to me, he seems a bit more focused on what is going on in the game rather than showing his emotions when things don't go his way like Joao Pedro.
We can but I'd be surprised it that were to happen. Speculating here but I think if he doesn't get a permit we'd commit to a full season loan, maybe utilising the Bayat link to send him on loan to Charleroi like what we tried (and failed) to do with Toure.
There’s also the fact that he’d occupy one of our Rule of 11 spots. Maybe we wouldn’t mind as he’s a young player and we’re just trying to integrate him into the environment, but would be a poor use of one of our non-HG spots (to the extent the club are actually concerned about that).
A work permit would be nice as even if he's not ready for the first team it'll allow him to be loaned out to a domestic club or at least play with our U21s so we can better assess his level.
I agree. There seems to be a lot more focus to Asprilla's game. There's the standard issue annoying flicks they both attempt to pull off, but overall Asprilla has very little thought other than finding a killer ball.
It's something he possibly tried too often for Envigado, the killer ball, particularly last season. Watching the clips Reids kindly put up from when we were first linked, it was obvious he has an eye for a pass. It was the simple stuff he too often neglected which meant by going for something special/more likely to create a chance, he gave the ball away a lot. In the few games he played for them this season (before our season started) it looked like he'd found more of a balance, seemingly happier to play a simple short pass to keep possession. His defensive duties and abilities have generally been good and should become better as he becomes physically stronger. Not only capable at tackling or jockeying the opposition, but he looks to have a tremendous desire to win the ball back.
What really impresses me about Asprilla beyond his obvious footballing talent is his speed of thought. He knows what he wants to do with the ball before receiving it, and can react quickly when pressed or doubled-up on. Pedro for me has outstanding technical skills, but some parts of his game, like movement and decision making, are developing at a slightly more normal pace. Which is absolutely fine. Without injuries, they have the talent to both be top-half PL players minimum.
Sign him then get him to watch this. https://twitter.com/S20Baggio/status/1562901675396198402?t=tpiAU5u_OhKGOcyJptqZAw&s=19 Then straight into the team at RWB.
Yeah credit to RE, he spotted that Asprilla wasn't getting on th note ball due to combination of a clogged midfield and our midfield not passing to him. I thought it happened at HT but after watching full match back I realised RE switched him to left of a front 3 after 30 mins which freed him to express himself. He could be on 3-4 assists this season if Bayo and Manaj could finish. He set up Bayo a couple of times against MK Dons too. Like most on here, I wasn't expecting him to adjust so quickly to physicality of Championship, but he has. People keep saying he needs to beef up but if you watch him he rarely gets muscled on the ball because he uses his vision, speed and technique to solve these problems.
His footballing intelligence is sublime, half the time he barely needs to look up before passing because he's already got the picture of the pitch in his head.
I'd rate Asprilla higher because of his footballing IQ and awareness on the pitch of where everyone is. And then having the technical ability to deliver on what he can see. I'm not too surprised by his acclimatization. He has a deep hunger and will become a great ten at directing the play and picking up goals. He's pretty tough and strong quite a wiry strength but he's already pretty good at shielding the ball and earning fouls. I would never try and coach those balls around the edges and flicks out of him. It's part of him. Sometime it won't come off but he's a quick learner and he hasn't really played many games. He was already picked as a top star by Cafeteros fans. Hurtado I've only watched some highlights. He's strong, quick, two footed and relatively intelligent on the ball. He'll get stronger too and prove a bustling nine that gets into defenders, holds the ball up and when the chances present themselves get it on target even if he doesn't score. I really don't know too much as I've barely seen him but Envigado and Cartagena have good academies and I would not be surprised our network the only decent one we have has links to them. We did miss out on Jose Mulato whose in a similar mould to Hurtado although less technically refined and not as aware on the pitch but with more speed and strength. The CONMEBOL u20 is taking place in Colombia next year so these two will be in the Colombian squad for certain barring injuries and it will be a good place to gauge Hurtado. Asprilla should be a star at it.
