Over the summer, the Pozzo family decided it was time for a few changes at Watford, after seeing the club just about avoid relegation under Walter Mazzarri.
The Italian coach was swiftly dismissed, and Hull City’s Marco Silva was then appointed, as the Hornets wanted to ensure forward progress this season.
Another part of that change was in the scouting department, as they plucked Romain Poirot from Manchester City, their man in charge of scouting in France.
Now settled in at Watford as their European Scouting Consultant, also sharing his findings with the other Pozzo owned club, Udinese, the French talent spotter was asked by L’Equipe to comment on what had happened in France over the summer.
He said: “We’re in a transfer era that’s far different than before. On one side, Paris Saint-Germain are in another dimension, spending exceptional sums. You also then have clubs whose strategy is aimed on the dynamic rotation of the squad, like Lille and especially Monaco.
“They sold for huge amounts and brought in players for far less money, but with a lot of potential. For me, however, the real winner of this window, if you discount PSG, is Lyon”.
Involved in finding the likes of Olivier Ntcham, David Faupala and Thierry Ambrose for Manchester City, Poirot was impressed with the way Alexandre Lacazette’s former side brought in a mix of experienced players, young players as well as showing faith in their academy.
Furthermore, the scout has noticed that French clubs aren’t worried about plucking talent from each other anymore, which he says is a good thing, as that means developing French talent remains the key goal.
This then allows clubs to sell them on to more ‘powerful’ leagues, like in England, which, in turn, strengthens Ligue 1 economically.
Watford have directly contributed to this themselves in the past, buying players like Brice Dja Djédjé and now star midfielder Abdoulaye Doucouré.
With Poirot in charge now, that could become a growing trend, too.
