Watford: Troy Deeney makes honest Tom Cleverley admission ahead of new Championship season | OneFootball

Former Watford captain Troy Deeney has shared his concern over his former club ahead of the new season.

Highlights

Troy Deeney has told Sky Sports he is ‘nervous’ for former teammate and current Watford boss Tom Cleverley this season, as he questioned the quality of the current squad compared to previous teams.

The Hornets turned to Cleverley to replace Valerien Ismael in the previous campaign, and a promising run of results and performances saw the ex-England international land the job on a permanent basis.

Now, he is gearing up for his first full season in management, but Cleverley has had to contend with losing the influential Ismael Kone, and it's thought Yaser Asprilla will follow, with the Pozzo family cutting back on what they spend.

Troy Deeney expresses Watford concern

And, speaking to Sky Sports, former favourite Deeney,who is now pundit, had a bleak outlook on Watford’s situation right now.

“I think he's got one hand tied behind his back. I'm nervous for him. Not because he's not good enough, because he's proved he's good enough and he knows his stuff. But I think Watford are in a huge transition at the moment in regards to the amount of finances that are available.

“If you are a fan that's older than five, you can remember the Premier League and the players that we had at that time. Any and every one of our former starting XI, fans would die for one of those players right now. We'd all walk back into the first team.

“I don't think he's got enough goals in the team at the moment. He could be losing big personalities, big characters, and probably your better quality players and having to do it with young kids. I worry for him because, as we know, Watford will not hesitate in making a change if they think things are wrong.”

Watford worry is understandable

Unfortunately, the worry around Watford right now is totally understandable, as you can’t really argue with any of the points made by Deeney.

The sale of Kone to Marseille hasn’t allowed them to spend, and the club have accepted an offer for Asprilla, whilst there are doubts about the future of Wesley Hoedt.

Even with those players, Watford could only finish in mid-table last season, and Emmanuel Dennis, who impressed under Cleverley, has returned to his parent club as he was only on loan.

So, there’s no denying that the rookie boss is facing a huge challenge, and he needs more support from the owners if it’s possible ahead of the deadline.

Watford’s summer transfer plans

Following on from that, they really need to go into the market to improve areas of the squad, and the lack of options in attack is one of the primary concerns.

Of course, Asprilla’s future plays a role in this, as if he does move on for a fee that will be in excess of £25m, it will change the type of player they can bring in.

So, it’s going to be an interesting few weeks ahead for the Hornets, and Cleverley will know that they need to do plenty of business if they are to be competitive this season.