£12.5m transfer flop: How Watford missed the mark with Isaac Success | OneFootball

Watford's record-breaking signing of Isaac Success in the summer of 2016 fell well below expectations.

Isaac Success joined Watford in the summer of 2016 for a club-record fee, and the expectations set on the Nigerian were high.

Watford had just finished their first season back in the top flight for eight years, securing a 13th-place finish and comfortably surviving eight points above the drop zone.

Building upon what was a successful season, the Hornets delved into the transfer market in the summer of 2016, bringing in the likes of Roberto Pereyra, Daryl Janmaat and Christian Kabasele for multi-million-pound fees.

The most expensive outlay, however, was on Success, who joined Watford from Spanish side Granada for a fee in the region of £12.5 million, which was enough to make him the club's record signing at the time.

Still only 20-years-old, the Nigerian forward had scored six goals and added a further two assists for a Granada side which narrowly avoided relegation, and was joining a Hornets side on an upwards trajectory.

Isaac Success joined Watford for a club-record fee, but his time at the club flattered to deceive

In his first season at Vicarage Road, Success found it difficult to break into the starting eleven on a consistent basis, with both Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney competing as the two main strikers, whilst Mbaye Niang, Mauro Zarate and Stefano Okaka all completed for places up top.

Success would be limited to just two starts in his first season at Watford, with a further 17 appearances from the bench, usually as a late substitute where he would struggle to have time to impact a match, scoring once and grabbing one assist all campaign.

The following year he failed to make a single appearance for the club, heading out on-loan to Spanish side Malaga in January, though, again, he would struggle to nail a place in the starting lineup.

In the three years that followed, Success would still struggle to establish himself in the starting lineup at the club under an array of different managers, and would leave for sister club Udinese in the summer of 2021.

Injuries affected Success' time in Hertfordshire, as he missed exactly 100 games for the club with a variety of injuries, most notably an achilles tendon rupture, which effectively ruled him out of action for well over a year.

The Nigerian played on 72 occasions for the Hornets, scoring six times and assisting a further five across all competitions as Success did not justify his price tag.

Watford fell flat with the eight-figure fee of Isaac Success

Success has gone on to play regularly in the Italian Serie A since joining the club in 2021, making 83 appearances, scoring six goals and registering 17 assists across all competitions for Udinese.

However, the Nigerian's contract with the club was terminated three years after joining, and the forward last played for Al Wasl in the United Arab Emirates before becoming a free agent once again.

Now 29-years-old, Success ought to be entering the prime stages of his career as a footballer. Instead, he is without a club and looks unlikely to return to top flight football in a major European league again.