Exeter City: "Mo Salah of League One" should show loyalty with January deal | OneFootball

Caleb Watts has finally started to flourish at Exeter City and it's time he signed a new deal and repaid they loyalty shown to him by the club.

Nothing can elevate a player's game like their contract approaching its end.

We’ve all seen it countless times across the footballing spectrum and Exeter City might be experiencing it with Caleb Watts at the moment.

The Southampton academy graduate has looked really bright over the last few weeks and now he has just days left until his contract at St James Park expires on January 20th.

Watts had been a bit-part player plagued by injuries through most of his 18 months in Devon’s capital, but recently he’s worked his way into a starting berth in Gary Caldwell’s side.

And his best game in the red and white probably came in Saturday’s excellent 3-1 win over Oxford United of the Championship in the FA Cup third round.

He looked super fit, really combative, and had quality on the ball with a brilliant assist to set up Vincent Harper’s goal to wrap the game up.

Caldwell and the City faithful have been very patient with Watts, who made just 11 appearances last season and has started seven league games in 2024/25 with six of those coming since December 7th.

It’s a credit to him that he’s improved to a level where he’s starting more regularly, it’s just a shame that he might depart for nothing at the first sign of some form.

He may well stay, of course, but if he was to jump ship at the first opportunity, that would sting.

And that’s an assessment Caldwell made clear after the win that put City into the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time in 44 years.

He told the club’s media team: “He’s the Mo Salah of League One, he’s playing really well when his contact’s coming up!

“Maybe we need to give him a month-to-month contract to keep him playing that well! We are talking to him and we’re hopeful we can get something done because he has really kicked on in the last six weeks.

“We’ve looked after Caleb for 18 months now and worked with him to build him up to this level. I’m delighted for him that he’s doing that and hopefully he can stay for longer.”

Overall Watts’ numbers probably don’t reflect the performances he’s been putting in of late, with just one assist in his last 13 games, but it’s the quality that’s been eye-catching and he's always trying to make something happen.

He wants to drive forward with the ball and beat a man who can, at times, turn a safe situation into one of real threat to the opposition as the Us found out on Saturday.

He’s also been moved around a fair bit on the pitch since being at Exeter but, with some encouraging displays under his belt, he can, if he stays, put up a real case for more starts between now and the end of the season, especially as City’s midfield has often looked a bit devoid of ideas going forward with a disconnect between them and the frontline.

Whatever happens, this is going to come to a head very soon and maybe the windfall from winning on Saturday might help get Watts’ contract talks over the line with Caldwell admitting he'll be asking for some of the £115,000 prize money to be reinvested into the squad.

When quizzed on potential further business in the remainder of this month after bringing in Joel Colwill on loan for the rest of the season he replied: "Possibly one [more]. If I go and ask nicely, there might be some money after that win!

“We are trying to get one more but will see what we can get. The window is difficult but we will have a look at the market will see what is out there. If we can get someone who makes us stronger then we will see what we can do.”