When Watford were relegated from the Premier League after a rather disappointing 2019-20 season, all eyes turned on a couple of their players who were unlikely to stay in the Championship.
Gerard Deulofeu, even with his injury, was one of them, and the Spaniard was sent on loan to Udinese, with the other being Abdoulaye Doucouré.
The French midfielder had always been one of the better performers for Watford, and when Everton came knocking, few were surprised.
A fee of around £20m was paid by Carlo Ancelotti’s side to secure his services, and while it wasn’t the big exit Doucouré wanted, seeing as he’d failed to keep his side in England’s top-tier, it was a chance to remain in the Premier League.
Becoming an established presence in one of the best leagues in the world was a result of hard work from the Frenchman, whose adventure with Watford didn’t exactly start off on the right foot.
In a big interview with Onze Mondial, Doucouré explained: “It didn’t start how I wanted it to. After I signed for Watford, I was directly loaned in Spain. It wasn’t planned at all. It was a low blow from Watford. In the end, I have six good months in Spain and I come back full of confidence to play in the Premier League.
“The first six months were tough. I was discovering a new country with my family, a new language, and I wasn’t playing so it was hard to get integrated. From January onwards, it all changed”.
In the end, the 27-year-old spent four years at Vicarage Road, where he made 141 appearances, scored 14 goals and assisted another 12.
As for what it was like to live through a relegation to the Championship, Doucouré opened up about how he felt.
He explained: “It wasn’t easy, but honestly, I thought it would be worse than it was. Yes, of course, it’s disappointing to go down, but personally, whether we stayed up or not, I’d moved on in my head. I wanted a change of air. Sadly, it happened after the relegation. It was maybe a blessing in disguise.
“If we hadn’t gone down, I seemingly wouldn’t have gone. Watford’s owners had high demands for me. It would have complicated things. I was disappointed for the guys at the club. Even for me, as a competitor, it was hard to swallow. I would have liked to stay up in the Premier League. In the end, I used it to bounce back. Nothing is given in football. You need to work hard to succeed”.
