Watford have signed Andre Gray from Burnley for a club record fee, which is believed to be around £18.5 million. The 26-year-old has signed a five-year contract with the Hornets, who have been long term admirers of the striker.
He was in the final year of his deal at Turf Moor and declined the opportunity to extend it, despite a significant pay rise being offered to him.
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Although the Clarets didn’t want to sell the striker, they have earned a good profit on him after signing him for £9 million in 2015. He scored the goals that got them promoted from the Championship, but he failed to kick on as many expected him to since arriving in the Premier League. Last season, he scored nine goals, which isn’t a return that screams £18.5 million striker, but Watford have taken the plunge and the expectation will be much higher at Vicarage Road as a result.
What will he bring to Watford’s attack?
It seems likely that Watford are going to line up with two strikers again this season, which has become a common theme at the club since their promotion. They have had several different managers, but they have all favoured a strike partnership rather than a lone forward. Troy Deeney has been a pivotal figure at the club, but he is a player that likes to drop deep and influence the game from the pockets of space in front of the opposition defence.
This means that Watford need an out-and-out striker to partner him and make the intelligent runs in behind in order to benefit from Deeney’s creativity. Odion Ighalo managed it successfully for a period, but he was soon figured out and struggled in his second season before being shipped out to China. Gray is a willing runner and he possesses enough pace to cause problems for opposition defences.
There are doubts about this deal though and they are chiefly centred on his decision making in the final third. In the Championship, Gray was an accomplished finisher, but at times last season, he looked like a rabbit in the headlights in front of goal. The adjustment to being one of the best players in a league to playing for a relegation-threatened team was one that he didn’t make comfortably and his consistency suffered. He has a lot to prove at Watford, but his confidence levels should be high after the club paid out a huge fee to bring him to Vicarage Road.
What does this mean for Draft Fantasy Football?
Burnley and Watford had similar attacks last season, with the latter managing to score one more goal during the course of the Premier League. However, the arrival of Marco Silva as manager promises improvement in this department, while Will Hughes and Nathaniel Chalobah should provide creativity from the middle of the park.
Gray would be a good draft pick as a third choice forward as a rotational play based on match-ups. If you have already drafted and have the striker in your squad, his fantasy value has gone up slightly, which means he could be a useful asset to use when trading.
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Troy Deeney’s value doesn’t suffer, as he plays a more withdrawn role than Gray. In fact, the arrival of the club-record signing could help the captain, as he now has a good striker to play off. For Burnley, Sam Vokes is now looking like a better player to own as he will be playing in most matches.
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