As you may recall, Watford signed a young player from Le Havre named Papa Gueye earlier this year, only for him to cancel his contract with the Championship side and go to Marseille instead.
It was a complicated affair, one with accusations of false promises, strange medicals and frustrated lawyers, but the 21-year-old still managed to escape Vicarage Road for Champions League football in the south of France without the Ligue 1 club paying a fee.
While he isn’t a regular starter yet, finding himself in the first XI just four times this season, Gueye has impressed when called upon, earning some plaudits from his manager, André Villas-Boas.
Speaking ahead of the Champions League fixture against Olympiakos, relayed by Le10 Sport, the Portuguese manager lauded the young midfielder.
He said: “He’s an extraordinary player. I’ve got a lot of confidence in him for the future. If every big European clubs come in for [Boubacar Kamara], it can open the door for Pape. But for now, [midfield] is my strongest area. We have a bit of rotation, but I trust him. He’s incredible at training”.
Teams such as Manchester City have reportedly taken an interest in Kamara in the past, and while he turned down the opportunity to leave last summer, it remains to be seen whether he wants to spend his entire career at Marseille.
If he doesn’t and he ends up leaving, it’ll be entirely down to Gueye to take over, and it appears Villas-Boas firmly believes the former (very briefly) Watford player is the man for the job.
A real case of what could have been for the Hornets, who are probably kicking themselves at this summer’s situation.
