Recent Watford exploits spell bad news for Yaser Asprilla situation: View | OneFootball

With just one win in their last seven Championship matches, Watford have seen their play-off hopes dashed in the last few weeks.

The Hornets went from front-runners for the top six to mid-table also-rans in a little over a month, as they currently sit in 11 points off of sixth-placed Hull City.

That miserable run of form has left Valerien Ismael’s position under threat at Vicarage Road, and will more than likely see them playing their football in the second tier once again next season.

That is likely to see a number of top-profile names leave the club to go on to bigger and better things, with one of those being Yaser Asprilla; the man with the golden touch for the Hornets.

Yaser Asprilla’s 2023/24 season breakdown

Asprilla has been the shining light in a Watford team that has been largely hit-and-miss this season, with the 20-year-old’s creativity, flair and eye for goal providing flashes of quality that has largely been lacking from the Hertfordshire outfit this campaign.

You only have to look at two of his last three appearances to see the quality that he possesses; with sumptuous 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 really something to behold; after picking the ball up near halfway the young star glides across the turf, leaving the opposing defenders backtracking, before unleashing a venomous strike that arrows into the top left corner - simply unstoppable.

That only tells half the story of Asprilla’s season so far though, with six goals to his name only striker Mileta Rajovic has found the back of the net more for the Hornets in 23/24. Add in the five assists he has to his name and no one has more goal contributions than the Colombian.

To be over performing xG by +1.6 throughout the campaign proves just how clinical the prestigious playmaker is from any distance; a trait that will turn many a head from the recruitment teams of Europe’s elite.

Yaser Asprilla transfer rumours, contract information

According to a report from Spanish outlet Diario Sport, Barcelona are rumoured to be preparing a bid for Asprilla when the season comes to a close, with Watford holding out for a fee of over £30 million for the Colombia international.

Premier League sides Newcastle United and Everton are also reportedly keen on the playmaker, with the latter’s January bid not meeting the Hornets’ valuation, according to journalist Pipe Sierra.

If Asprilla does leave in the summer, which seems more and more likely by the day, he will follow a number of other high-profile signings to have left Vicarage Road for bigger and better things in recent years.

Joao Pedro would be the main example last summer, with the Brazilian moving to Brighton and Hove Albion last summer for a club-record £30m fee, and has since gone on to sparkle for the Seagulls in domestic competitions and in Europe.

Emmanuel Dennis was another standout performer at Vicarage Road in recent years, with his ten goals in the Hornets’ doomed Premier League campaign in 21/22 catching the eye of Nottingham Forest, with the Nigerian moving to the City Ground for a reported fee of £20m.

hings haven’t quite worked out for the striker since moving from Hertfordshire though, and he finds himself back in Ismael’s plans for the remainder of the season; having rejoined on loan in January.

With the young Colombian on a contract until the summer of 2026 there is no danger of him moving on from the club for a bargain price, and after standing out in the Championship this campaign a move to a top tier European league is surely only a matter of months away.

Watford fans will have known from early on what a talent they had on their hands, and that if they languish in the Championship too long he will move on like so many have done in recent years.

He’s the sort of player you have to enjoy watching for your club while you can, because at 20-years-old he has the world at his feet, and won’t be in Hertfordshire for much longer.