Seems like Ndong is still banned for a couple of games so maybe we are waiting to complete this deal (if we are...) till Sunderland have played tonight meaning he'd only have one match suspended left?
Wouldn't make any difference really. We could sign him now and one of his games he is suspended for could be our game tomorrow. If we wait until tomorrow and sign him then, it will only count Sunderland's game and not ours so no difference. Realistically we seem to be waiting to see what happens with our other CDMs, Ndong seems to be the third choice.
Done deal. Loan with an option to buy in the summer for €8m according to L'Equipe. Bit disappointed after being linked with Dendoncker.
At least we weren't linked with him a while a go but spent ages messing around whilst starting games with Watson as DM.
Dendoncker was min. 35m EUR supposedly, crazy money N'Dong until the summer will be fine if the money saved can be invested in another attacker or defender
You can only get a player if the selling club is happy so I don't blame the club on this one. Sunderland signed a centre midfielder earlier which meant they could release Ndong.
If the deal was a purchase, rather than trying to get a loan in on the cheap, I doubt they would have waiting this long. Just comes across like typical Watford IMO.
If the answer is Ndong it must have been a pretty crap question . Last 3 games I saw him play he got sent off ! Must admit to being seriously underwhelmed on this one.
If this is in addition to Anguissa then this is still good business, he's a better back up than Watson or Capoue. Sent from my G3311 using Tapatalk
Exactly this. He’s a bit of a headless chicken, but he’s got energy and closes down well. One to bring on towards the end of games, rather than make a valuable contribution to our starting 11 I feel.
Typical Watford, trying to get the best deal for us, what a bunch of clowns we are. We wanted an option where we had to buy him if he played 75% of games, Sunderland said no. For all we know the later we've left it Sunderland have now agreed to our terms. Plus we were trying to get upgrades on this guy anyway.
Sunderland paid more than £13m for this guy when that was still a lot of money. Isn't he still their record signing? They must have seen something in him. Bear in mind he's only 23 and was in an absolutely shyte team. I'm very hopeful he could turn out to be a brilliant signing for us. Just hope there's not too much in the 'disruptive influence' quotes because Dodi Chewbacca is supposed to be a bad boy too....
He wasn't a total failure at Sunderland. Here a report on their home match against Bournemouth on April 27th 2017... "Goodness knows what might have happened if Didier Ndong, Sunderland’s best player, had not been around to hold the home midfield together. The Gabon international’s interceptions repeatedly broke up wave on wave of blue-shirted attacks. Ndong kept Sunderland in a game in which Moyes’s players might have startled everyone by taking the lead had Defoe not directed a six-yard volley straight at Boruc after springing the offside trap."
Sunderland overspent on him though when Moyes arrived, because they were desperate for players and were trying to stay up. I am loath the criticise us but continually driving a hard bargain for players is why the profile of the squad is slipping. People can hope that this guy is in addition to another CM but the WO makes it pretty clear he’s not and he is another player we sign who is way down the list of who we wanted. As easy as it is to say, with it not being my money, we need to start paying the money for players higher up the lists - because everyone else will be. He may be good to make us slightly better in the middle, but it’s not the guaranteed improvement that we need.
Strong tackler and knows the league. Decent when we need fit players and could end up better than decent.
The question being "who is the only player that could actually make this team worse?" I'm actually angry if we sign him. He's so, so bad... Watson is actually better.
Just a few comments from the Sunderland forum about him:- "Got better as the season went on. It can't have been easy for him being thrown into our shitshow, but for a kid who couldn't even speak the language he never once hid." "Just turned 23! So much potential there" "He's the only player i thought we should realistically keep from that shower of ***** last season." "Of the entire squad, he's one of a very few who didn't give up whilst on the pitch. Always gave it his all even if his final ball/composure was lacking a bit." "He's such a solid player and the most impressive thing was he never shied away. " "Highest completed passing percentage of anyone in our midfield last season" "Was a really good signing with lots more potential, be gutted if he left. Was about the only player last season to be able to make quick passes and know where to pass it."
That’s what we do though, isn’t it? That’s our model, that’s why we’ve been competitive, but dont have debt and aren’t falling foul of FFP. The only time we’ve possibly paid over the odds is to bring in Gray and look how that worked out. You’re pointing out that Sunderland panicked and over spent on him, well they’re now in the championship. Should we be doing that? Or should we continue to look for players that are good value and not be doing exactly what Sunderland did in the first place.
I'm disappointed if it's him and not Dendoncker, but only in that context. He was fairly decent for Sunderland when they were in the Prem, and more than that, he fills the main role we need him for right now. He can go straight into the side and play alongside Doucoure, improving the team compared to Watson or Capoue, and when Chalobah comes back it won't be some earth-shattering moment if he loses his place to him. I'd have loved Dendoncker, but you'd then have to ask what we'd do when Doucoure and Nathaniel are both fit again. I could definitely envisage being back in for him in the summer as long as we maintain our place in the league, and, god forbid, perhaps even have a positive end to the season. Can barely remember what that's like...
I know absolute zero about this lad, other than he plays for a team that could suffer consecutive relegations. But as others have pointed out, maybe playing in a side that has been on a downward trajectory for quite a while hasn't enabled him to fulfill the potential that he must have had (and hopefully still has)? And maybe playing alongside Doucoure will be perfect for him, especially as they are both French speaking? If he's an upgrade on our current available midfield options, then it's a yes from me. Sometimes certain players just seem to fit well at certain clubs. Lets hope this is true for him. Worst case scenario - he's no better than what we have, so the loan isn't made permanent. But by the time we've seen enough to work out just how good/bad he is, perhaps some of our first choice players will be ready to return. I certainly won't write him off if he underwhelms on debut (in fact, I worry more when they're brilliant as it seems inevitable that they then head down the very familiar Parades/Niang/Zeegelaar path). Welcome to Watford, Didier
Ever the optimist Clive - that's a very selective collection of quotes from their forum! Still, at least some of them think he's good, even if they're probably in the minority...
The best deal financially isn't always the best deal in the long run. 'Trying to get upgrades' is buying into the club's PR. We were chasing players that we were never realistically going to get given the prices suggested.
A very fair point which I take on board. I do think my point is also valid too though. Every now and then we need to take a leap and pay what is needed to get Target No.1. We can’t let ‘Andre Gray’ effect that. I’m not even sure Gray was our top target but more someone who would joking who had a decent past record. I guess I’m just disappointed it’s not Dendoncker who is highly rated across the board to the point where I think the signing couldn’t really have failed. Plus he can fill in at CB. He seemed to be worth paying that little bit extra for and it just seems we are settling for N’Dong because we won’t do that. I could be wrong, and I accept that. I’m just saying it as it appears to me. If Dendoncker was interested in coming, opportunities like that don’t present themselves to Watford often, that’s all. I want our squad to improve, not just be filled out with players we hope change their luck with us.
Quite disappointing to get our third choice but nonetheless I think he will do alright! Sent from my G3311 using Tapatalk
I'm underwhelmed after the Dendoncker talk but he's only got to cover for Doucoure, Cleverley and Chalobah for the rest of the season.
More than enough. Even at Lorient he was so unimpressive I laughed when Sunderland spent that amount on him. Lacks quality.
