Former Watford striker Dodi Lukebakio has hinted things didn’t work out for him at the club because he wasn’t mature enough.
Lukebakio joined Watford in a £4.5m deal from RSC Charleroi in January 2018, arriving from Belgium as a highly-rated youngster after rising through the ranks at Anderlecht.
Things would not work out for him with the Hornets, though, as he managed just one 15 minute appearance for the club during his year there.
He was first shipped out to Fortuna Dusseldorf on loan for 18 months before being sold to Hertha Berlin the following year in an £18m deal.
He’s managed to establish himself somewhat in Germany, with 16 goals and 13 assists in 67 games for Hertha and one goal and three assists in 23 games for loan club Wolfsburg.
“I have become much more mature; I see football differently than I did then,” he told Het Laatste Nieuws.
“I work harder – on and off the pitch. So many things have happened between five years ago and now. I have a family that provides stability.
“I’m a real pro. That (turning up for training late) was a youthful sin, a bad habit that way too much play was made around then. That’s how the media works. You know how it goes. Some things get blown out of proportion.
“It all went too fast with my breakthrough. I would listen more to people who talk to me, who warn me about the pitfalls.
“That is the advice I would give to the Dodi of 2017: ‘Listen to them, that is very important’. I missed that guidance at Anderlecht, for example. I had to do things on my own too often.”
