I was about to say, given the speed of this it had all the hallmarks of a player pushing for the move.
The assist should have been his goal if he hadn't mis controlled and had to leave it for Martins. And I do think that Southampton goal was lucky their goalie misjudged so much.
You know what will happen on Feb 24th now when Huddersfield come to the Vic ! One Huddersfield fan certainly doesn’t think they will be paying 2 million for him . https://twitter.com/WillJBrennan_NI/status/1748303691839361202
I liked him, had the right attitude but like others have said maybe his injuries caught up with him. We should have used his long throw more when he was on the pitch.
Not totally surprised by this which still seems a shame from him and Watford. I was excited in the summer with this transfer, an unpolished gem maybe? With the way things started with us, Healey could soon see that he was only ever going to be a squad player waiting for an injury or suspension to get a fleeting appearance or two. He's 29 now and knows that his first season or two in France had gained him a wider reputation but following his injury problems at Toulouse this stopped him pushing on at just the time when his earning potential had gone up a notch. I imagine the reality of the last 6 months means that he needs a lucrative Championship level contract plus game time to maintain things and earn sufficiently in his early 30s. He seems a confident personality and will consider that he'll ensure Huddersfield's survival. For our part until recent games we were hoping that the encouragement of 2 starting slots against Chesterfield and QPR would demonstrate some of that Toulouse firepower he showed and unleash a forward trusting his fitness. Sadly both performances were underwhelming and, however unfair, he probably knew he was in the last chance saloon in SW Herts with the transfer window up and running for those games. Although it was a very shortlived time with us - including 2 vital late goals - he could show to others that he was a force at Champ level. A further few months at Watford without anything other that some late subs appearances could have killed any lingering reputation and he would be looking at Leagues 1 and 2. Best deal for us both I suppose.
Telling that he leaves immediately after his first two starts. Watching both games it was clear he was not the right man for the system VI wants to play. There's a good goalscorer in there but it wasn't going to emerge at Watford sadly.
Not really sure I get the 'buy out the contract' point. That's what a transfer fee is isn't it? If he's arguing it's unlikely to be £2m all up front then yeah sure, I agree. But that's not a controversial take.
To tell you the truth I knew his time was up after watching him start against Chesterfield. He looked below the standard and pace even against a National League defence.
You would hope that in order for us to sanction this deal, an incoming striker is close to being done. Then I remind myself we have tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum(b) in charge.
There’s nothing imminent. Louza was allowed to leave without a replacement, even though we don’t have Kayembe available. They will see we have Bayo and Rajovic. That’s enough for now. Strong talk we’ll be making signings, but I think it will be a last minute scramble if we do sign anyone.
Yeah but without labouring the point, he was having to drop back into midfield loads to try and get the ball moving up the park. Val wants the central striker to play in a certain way and it was never going to be a good match for Healey's game or build. Looking at the highlight vids when he signed it was clear he was (pre-injury at least) in his element getting in behind opposition defences. We only very rarely provide those opportunities to our strikers because how we build up play so slowly.
It's been reported as "up" to 2 million so I would imagine add on's such as Huddersfield staying up, for example, are part of the deal.
I called it back in pre-season already (July 28th): "I've not been impressed with what I've seen of Healey so far annoyingly. Although he seems to have good technique, he seems currently behind most others in his pace and sharpness." https://wfcforums.com/index.php?threads/pre-season-23-24.60282/page-22#post-3261917 But there were still plenty on here calling for him to start throughout the season and expressing their grievance that he wasn't.
Weird, weird signing. On a free as part of a massive rebuild. Had some promise and a dodgy knee, got loads of hysterical attention from a section of fans demanding he start, finally started but looked like a competition winner and subsequently flogged for a couple of million quid.
If Ince leaves as well this month, it will be the third consecutive January window where at least two of our signings from the previous summer will have departed. These things happen of course but it doesn’t particularly highlight a joined-up and longer-term transfer policy. Which isn’t a surprise of course. I’m sorry to see Healey depart but I respect and understand the comments of the majority who didn’t particularly rate him or think he was any good for us. I know Bayo was suspended and Rajovic seems less awful coming off the bench, but I find it weird we finally started Healey the last two matches only to then sell him.
Le Fondre is the obvious replacement but Gino is thick as mince so we'll get some nobody from Belgium because he's in Bayat's pocket.
Still chuckling to myself that people actually believe we are getting £2 million for him. Andrew French could come out and say it was a word record fee and you’d have people on Twitter congratulating Gino on another great bit of business.
