Watford’s busy winter continues with the capture of Samuel Kalu from Bordeaux. Hoping to avoid relegation, the Hornets stormed the market space at full speed like the Koenigs egg Jesko Absolute.
They will hope that their latest Nigerian import would be their accelerator with several online casino sites looking forward to his future.
For Kalu, a switch to the Premier League is a dream come true. He said, “when I heard about the opportunity I was feeling grateful. It’s one of my dreams to play in the Premier League, this is what I want. I will be here to give my best.
“I spoke to M’Baye Niang, he was my team-mate in Bordeaux, he told me a lot about the Premier League and he was here before, he told me it’s a great club. He said the Premier League is the best league in the world, so I should grab my chance
“[Slovakia, Belgium and France] are all good leagues but I see the Premier League as more intense, powerful, I see it as the strongest league in the world.
“With my experience from the leagues I have played in, it’s quite similar with Ligue 1 and the Premier League. It’s amazing, every game is like a final, playing against the top clubs in the world.”
Kalu will be aiming to follow the path of his attacking compatriot, Emmanuel Dennis at Vicarage Road. The 24-year-old hit the ground running with eight goals and five assists in 18 Premier League matches and many online casino uk sites placed odds in every game he played.
What this means is that Dennis has been directly involved in almost one-third of Watford’s 40 strikes. To put in context, only Mohammed Salah, Diogo Jota and Jamie Vardy has buried more chances.
On the other side is another Nigerian, Isaac Success. Highly rated before his switch to Watford in 2016, the 26-year-old’s career hit the rocks. He racked up just three goals in over 60 appearances, culminating in a unceremonious exit.
Kalu’s career has similar trajectory. Touted as the next wing sensation, he joined Bordeaux as replacement for Barcelona-bound Malcom. He, however underwhelmed.
A combination of persistent injuries, health and dip in form crashed his rising stock. Kalu even struggled to make the French club’s starting XI. He managed just nine efforts in more than 70 matches, a dreadful return that Hornets wouldn’t need now.
Kalu, though, has never been a prolific goalscorer. He has never reached double figures and best return yet was seven strikes during his last year in Belgium. But the Nigerian can be an asset to any side.
Gifted with pace, work rate and energy, Kalu is explosive on the flanks. He is unusual in that he is a right-footed winger who plays on the right – but he also does far more than just run towards the byline and put a cross into the box. Kalu manoeuvres himself intelligently to beat opponents and uses his huge stride and devastating pace to run diagonally towards goal. He still, therefore, provides more of an immediate and direct threat on goal than traditional wingers do.
The 24-year-old gets in behind opponents with remarkable consistency. Through playing on his ‘natural’ side he is comfortable retaining his team’s width, and he can help his team attack with an asymmetrical front line with a right-footed left-winger – such as Dennis.
Kalu progresses beyond opposing defences through two favoured methods – either by timing runs to meet passes from teammates (above) or by taking heavy touches beyond a defender when one-on-one. He frequently looks on the verge of losing possession with one of those heavy touches, but his acceleration and his large stride means he can deceive his opponent and get to the ball first. He can therefore draw a defender towards him with what looks too heavy a touch but still retain the ball and skip past his opponent if they have committed too early.
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