This season, Yaser Asprilla has stood out at Vicarage Road, and European giants are circling.
Watford’s play-off aspirations have been shattered in recent weeks, as they have only won one of their previous seven Championship games.
In just over a month, the Hornets slipped from front-runners for the top six to mid-table also-rans, sitting 11 points behind sixth-placed Hull City.
That poor run of form has threatened Valerien Ismael’s position at Vicarage Road, and they will most likely be playing in the second tier again next season.
That is expected to result in a number of high-profile players leaving the club to pursue bigger and better opportunities, one of which being Yaser Asprilla, the Hornets’ golden touch player.
Yaser Asprilla’s 2023/24 Season Breakdown
Asprilla has been a bright spot in a Watford team that has been hit-or-miss this season, with the 20-year-old’s creativity, flair, and eye for goal delivering flashes of excellence that have been lacking from the Hertfordshire club this season.
Only two of his last three outings demonstrate the quality he possesses, with beautiful strikes against Norwich City and Rotherham United adding to his one-man highlight reel from the 2023/24 season.
The effort against the Canaries is truly impressive; after taking up the ball around halfway, the youthful star glides over the pitch, leaving the opposing defenders reeling, before unleashing a venomous strike that rockets into the top left corner – simply unstoppable.
That barely tells half of the story of Asprilla’s season so far; with six goals, only striker Mileta Rajovic has scored more for the Hornets in 23/24. When you add in his five assists, the Colombian has made the most goal contributions of any player.
To outperform xG by +1.6 during the campaign demonstrates how clinical the prestigious playmaker is from any distance; a trait that will turn many heads among Europe’s finest recruitment teams.
Yaser Asprilla transfer rumours and contract information
According to Spanish newspaper Diario Sport, Barcelona is reportedly preparing a proposal for Asprilla at the end of the season, with Watford demanding a sum of more than £30 million for the Colombian international.
According to journalist Pipe Sierra, Premier League clubs Newcastle United and Everton are also interested in the playmaker, with the latter’s January proposal falling short of the Hornets’ asking price.
If Asprilla departs in the summer, as appears increasingly likely, he will join a number of other high-profile recruits who have left Vicarage Road for larger and better things in recent years.
Joao Pedro was the biggest example last summer, when he joined Brighton & Hove Albion for a club-record £30 million, and he has since gone on to shine for the Seagulls in domestic competitions and Europe.
Emmanuel Dennis was another star performance at Vicarage Road in recent years, with his ten goals in the Hornets’ failed Premier League campaign in 21/22 garnering the attention of Nottingham Forest, who signed the Nigerian for an estimated £20 million.
Things haven’t gone as planned for the striker since his move from Hertfordshire, but he’s back in Ismael’s plans for the rest of the season after rejoining on loan in January.
With the young Colombian under contract until the summer of 2026, there is no chance of him leaving the club for a low fee, and after impressing in the Championship this season, a move to a top-tier European league is probably only a matter of months away.
Watford fans will have known from the start what a talented player they have on their hands, and if they stay in the Championship for too long, he will leave, as so many others have in recent years.
He’s the type of player you should love seeing for your club while you still can, since at 20 years old, he has the world at his feet and won’t be in Hertfordshire for long.
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