Watford midfielder Yaser Asprilla “didn’t eat meat” when he was at Envigado, his former manager has revealed.
Asprilla signed for Watford in a €3m deal from the Colombian side in January last year, spending the rest of the season with them before moving to Vicarage Road in the summer.
He’s since been a regular for Watford this season, making 31 appearances in all competitions so far, albeit largely playing as a substitute.
He is the latest in a long line of South American players to have made the move to the club in the last decade, with the Hornets making it something of a speciality to sign young South American talent to develop and potentially sell on at a profit.
That is something they’ve done to great success already, with Richarlison the stand out deal but the likes of Joao Pedro likely to follow before too long.
Asprilla is another one they’ll hope to develop, although at 19-years-old that may take a couple of years at least.
The process of turning him into a more rounded player and, even, person started from a youth age, with his former coach Professor Evelio Orozco revealing what his eating habits were like when he was under his guidance.
“We started to take charge of Yaser’s project in its first steps,” he told Grueso Calibre, relayed by Gol Caracol.
“Yaser even lived with us in our house for a while. And that’s where the sporting process began. He was with us for about three years.
“He competed in the league, he was in that runner-up position with the 2002 category that lost to Deportivo Cali in Ponyfútbol, I really wanted him to grow up, because he wasn’t eating well.
“He was a very good player. He was very fond of soda, with a butter bread or a biscuit bread. He liked it a lot, and that’s what he ate all the time. So, he would hide the food under the tablecloth. For example, he didn’t eat meat.”
