The 23-year-old midfielder has arrived for a fee of £8million from Rennes but will spend the next six months at La Liga side Granada
Arrival: Doucoure has joined Watford - but will spend the next six months at Granada
Watford completed a club record £8m deal for Rennes midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure - and immediately packed him off on loan to Granada.
Instead of forcing out an existing member of Quique Sanchez Flores' squad to meet the maximum permitted quota on foreign players in the Hornets' 25-man Premier League squad, Doucoure will spend four months in La Liga - at Spanish branch of Watford owner Gino Pozzo's family empire.
Doucoure, 23, will start life on the Pozzo dynasty payroll against Real Madrid - and finish his loan spell with Granada against Barcelona.
Hornets chief executive Scott Duxbury said: "The opportunity to sign Abdoulaye Doucoure now was one we wanted to act upon, given our long-standing interest in the player.
"He is very much part of Watford's future plans, and in the time between now and pre-season he'll be experiencing high-level competitive football in Spain."
Watford fans will still be baffled that Flores can smash the club's transfer record for the third time in seven months and decide Doucoure is surplus to requirements for the rest of the season.
They are within sight of Premier League safety and through to the last 16 in the FA Cup but face a daunting double-header against Chelsea and Tottenham in the next five days.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your contribution