Unable to guarantee him first-team football in his early season plans, Javi Gracia gave the green light for Adalberto Peñaranda to be loaned out from Watford once again.
The Venezuelan has spent a large chunk of his time at Vicarage Road away from England, and instead of returning to a Spain or Italy, the striker was shipped off to Belgium at Eupen.
Yet to score a goal, the player is still finding his bearings in his new surroundings, but he’s certainly in a good mood about the deal, clearly preferring to be playing regularly than sitting in the stands at Watford.
He told L’Avenir in Belgium: “I’m very happy to have come here because I’m getting the rhythm of the competition back in my legs”.
Eupen finally got their first win of the campaign away from home against Cercle Brugge at the weekend, and while he didn’t find the back of the net, he did play for 87 minutes.
Explaining that getting the three points was a ‘relief’ for the team, Peñaranda also commented on the level of football in Belgium, which he explained shouldn’t be underestimated.
He said: “It’s a very high level competition, tactically and physically too. Those who say it’s an easy league are wrong. It’s far harder than what some believe”.
That’s exactly why he was sent there, and it might prepare him more for Premier League football than the technical style preferred in, let’s say, La Liga.
At the end of the day, Watford seem to want to use him down the line, and this might be the ideal environment for him to develop and flourish before returning to feature more regularly at Vicarage Road.
