http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/watford-close-surprise-move-bournemouths-9636320 I think surprise is definitely the word, hard to judge as haven't seen him much since joining Muff though I don’t think their fans have either. Believe he is quite pacey though which is much needed! Edit - just noticed he's 29, thought he was early/mid 20s but I suppose that and his injury record is why the fee is reported around £3m.
Because of the size of our club, it makes sense to go for players at big clubs that have lost their way a bit... oh, hang on. Homegrown and looked quite good until he got injured. Not been same player since though...
It seems a home for players in their late 20s who need to keep their inflated wages coming in. Can we recall Sven Kums from Udinese? At least he sounds like he might run round and get stuck in, even if he is ****.
I've always liked the look of this player when I've seen him play. There are pros and cons with him. On the plus side he's fast and tricky, he qualifies as home grown and it sounds like he will be a cheap signing. On the negative, he's had an ACL injury, Bournemouth are willing to let him go and cut their losses (which is never a good sign) and he's 29, so not as young as I had originally imagined. We were after him in our first season though, so he's definitely someone who was on our radar in the past. For £3m, taking up a vacant home grown place, I think it's a signing worth making. In the Premier league, even a club like Watford can afford a £3m gamble. They'll be getting that for Gueds most likely, so it will balance itself out anyway, although wages are likely to be much higher.
A definite shift in transfer policy if we really are going after Zarate and Gradel, along with the signing of TC. *Sings Top Cat theme tune in head* Rather than signing players who've never played in England at least the signings wont be unfamiliar with the country and the league etc. even if they're not the home grown players we'd (some of us) would like to see. And there's always a budget to stick to as well. Doesn't Gradel have a bit of pace about him too? Something we're desperate to have on the field and hopefully not left sitting on the medical table.
Forgot he was at the Nations Cup of African Nations with Ivory Coast. So won't be available for at least another couple of weeks and then will need to get a couple of months to get "minutes in his legs" before finally being ready to play in the last few games of the season.
What a sensible and balanced post, I wasn't sure when I first saw the report but now you can count me in especially if he counts as home grown.
Yep, last season when Muff's transfer policy was basically to go after whatever player we were interested in, Gradel was one of them.
For me the key to this would be him qualifying as HG. If it was not for that, we wouldn't be interested in him. But, he has qualities that we lack right now with his pace and the transfer fee is affordable. Gradel or an empty HG slot? The more you look at it, the more it makes a lot of sense. In January, you have to pay over the odds to get good players. We clearly have targets, and I'm sure we'd spend big for the right player. But right now, it's a case of a "sticky plaster" approach. Fill up these HG slots with as much affordable quality as you can, then review in the summer. Cleverley and Gradel would be good business IMO.
personally id rather they spend 15 mill on one good signing than 3 or 4 mill here and there on average players. Where is this so called brilliant scouting network we have.
We were interested in this guy before he chose Muff, but why are we always trying to sign players who seem to be injury prone, I just don't get it?
Let's hope it's a loan as signing one legged HG players on 3 year deals is less of a sticky plaster approach and more one of absolute panic.
Jack Wilshere is managing more minutes for Bournemouth this season so Gradel must really be injury prone. Good when fit but if Bournemouth are willing to let him go I don't want him. This would be a bitterly disappointing signing.
The Pozzos clearly rate Gradel as they were chasing him last season (He was excellent at Leeds I remember). I would guess they got word he was available again & decided to step in. Leaving the HG squad slots unfilled was definitely a mistake, shown up by our injury crisis. If the guy can stay fit (big IF) he seems like a good, cheap filler for one of the slots
Don't agree it's a panic signing, if indeed we do sign him. If it's £3m, then it won't be a loan deal. More likely to be 3.5 year deal in contract length. The medical would be crucial of course and after an ACL, we'd have to look at him carefully. If he passes that and we manage to get game time out of him, he'd be a great option from the bench. I don't see him as a regular starter, but someone who can come on a worry the opposition in the final 20 minutes. Gradel is a player the club have been interested in for a long time, so it's not just someone they don't know anything about. It's one of those signings where the opportunity is there to get him. We still have 2 HG places vacant, so having one of these filled by a player like Gradel would be much better than having no one at all.
Bitterly disappointing? #hyperbole Who exactly do we want to sign? Unproven lower league? Overseas players we've never heard of? Ah yes - established premier league players who are getting lots of game time at bigger clubs but who would be willing to take a wage cut and play for Watford. Dowling, earn your wages.
I remember a lot on the forum saying the same when we signed Watson, didn't turn out too badly. One teams deadwood is another teams diamond. Homegrown, quick, tricky and an eye for goal. At the reported price you really can't go wrong, even if he was a squad player.
Yep, agreed mate. HG status swings it for me Good gamble, we could flog him to a Champo side in the summer if it doesn't work out as well, Leeds would snap him up given the chance
I'm not sure he's "injury prone", rather that he has had one serious injury and hasn't got back into Bournemouth's team. Still a concern as there is the possibility that he will never reach his pre-injury level, but it seems unfair to suggest he's always picking up injuries. If he can get back to the player who scored 17 in 23 starts in Ligue 1 in 2014/15 and started off his Bournemouth career promisingly, then it'll be a good signing. If not, it's a relatively cheap gamble that didn't work out and we didn't have to ship anyone else to free up a HG slot.
Watson was different if I remember correctly, contract was expiring? Had previously been a cut above the division he was signed for and was marginalised by injury. At the moment Gradel can't even get a game ahead of Josh King, Stanislas or Ryan Fraser. He's currently fourth in the pecking order. Spend £3 million on getting Success some new hamstrings, put it towards Bojan, I don't know, just seems desperate if anything this one.
Is that the stock answer when signing average, injury prone players? For every Ben Watson, there's a Lewis McGugan, Keith Andrews and Lloyd Dyer.
Or we could put the money towards a younger HG player and actually look to develop them. But we can't do that because we are flirting with a relegation fight. Which is why I view it as a panic signing, just like Zarate. Which is fine, by the way. As you have basically said, if we stay up and Gradel contributes in some form, then mission accomplished. But let's not pretend this sort of signing is anything but short term panic buying and an indication that their so-called model is no more.
