Coach of English Championship side Watford Valérien Ismaël has lifted the lid on how he stopped the club from bringing back out of favour Nigerian striker Emmanuel Dennis in the summer, OwnGoalNigeria.comreports.
Dennis left Watford last summer for Nottingham Forest after an astonishing season where he scored 11 goals, but failed to match the same height at Forest last season with only two goals.
He lost his spot in the team and at some point didn’t even make the matchday squad. Before the start of this season he was deemed surplus to requirements at Forest, paving the way for him to join Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir on a season long loan deal.
A return to Watford was on the card but according to Ismaël, he stopped it from happening because he doesn’t believe the Nigerian has what it takes to be a hit at the club , he said if he was signed it would have been a huge mistake considering his poor goal return bar that season with Watford in the English Premier League.
“His name came on my desk, but I said no. Simple as that,” Watford boss Ismael Valerie told Watford Observer.
“I honestly don’t think this was a mistake for Watford. He’s not been that prolific in his career.
“Yes, he had that one season where he scored 10 goals and earned that move to Nottingham Forest, but that has been his best tally in his whole career to date.
“You would have to bring him back on a big salary, and unless he guaranteed 20 goals it would be a huge mistake.”
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman