MY ACCOUNT
Fresh from winning the Africa Cup of Nations, Ismaila Sarr has come back to Watford and breathed new life into their hopes of Premier League survival.
The Senegalese international, 23, delivered a fine assist for Emmanuel Dennis’ winner in his side’s unlikely victory at Aston Villa last Saturday — their first under new manager Roy Hodgson.
Attracting interest from some of England’s biggest clubs in the past, the flying winger’s return has handed the Hornets’ chances of beating the drop a huge boost.
As Hodgson’s men look to secure a further three points at home to Crystal Palace, we turn the spotlight on Sarr.
International pedigree
Not many of the other sides struggling at the bottom have a player of Sarr’s calibre to call on.
Playing alongside the likes of Sadio Mane, Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly, the attacker helped his country win their first Africa Cup of Nations title earlier this month.
Seemingly against the wishes of his club, the forward flew to Cameroon to join up with his international team-mates while still recovering from a long-term injury.
Returning to action at the quarter-final stage after missing the Lions of Teranga’s first four games, Sarr made a vital contribution off the bench by scoring the game-sealing goal in a 3-1 win.
In the semi-final, he was heavily involved again — notching an assist for Mane in another 3-1 victory, this time against Burkina Faso.
And he was handed his first start of the tournament for the showpiece final against Egypt, playing 77 minutes as his country sealed a historic victory on penalties.
Roy’s boy
In typical Watford style, a lot changed at the club during the extended spell Sarr was away from Vicarage Road.
Injured shortly after scoring in the Hornets’ stunning 4-1 victory over Manchester United, the Hertfordshire side did not win a game in 12 further attempts between then and last Saturday.
It means there is now a new manager in charge — their third of the season — in Hodgson, who replaced Claudio Ranieri at the helm.
In his first game under the former England boss, Sarr came on as a half-time substitute but was unable to prevent a 2-0 home defeat to Brighton.
Nevertheless, the speedy winger had already caught Hodgson’s eye.
The 74-year-old tactician said: “First thing with Sarr is, he only came back on Friday lunchtime from a long trip and was feeling very tired and I think he did remarkably well to make himself available to be on the bench.
“But going forward, I have big expectations for him. And we as a team have expectations of what we want to see from him.”
Turning the tide
One of Hodgson’s priorities when taking over was to stop the strugglers from shipping goals as frequently as they had been.
A clean sheet in a stalemate against Burnley managed that as they kept their first away clean sheet in the Premier League since January 2020.
But remaining a threat in attack has still proved an issue.
After a lightning start to his Premier League career, summer signing Dennis’ goals had dried up as he searched for his first strike in 2022, while fellow arrival Josh King’s drought stretches back even further to November.
The missing link? According to Hodgson, it is only one man.
In the aftermath of Senegal’s celebrations, Hodgson said: “I’m really happy for him and I’m really happy for Senegal.
“It was great to see them win, but now we badly need him back to help us win.”
Villa thriller
And for the first game with Sarr back in the starting XI against Villa, Watford looked a different animal.
A resilient display at Villa Park saw the Hornets have just 40% possession and spend much of the game camped in their own half, but the away side were a threat on the break throughout.
Watford’s pacey front three of Sarr, Dennis and King caused problems for Villa all afternoon and it proved to be the source of their eventual winner.
Breaking away once again, the No23 brought the ball down inside the area before hanging a delightful cross in the air which begged Dennis to head home.
Completing two take-ons and creating three big chances — the most for any player on the field for both metrics — much of what was good about Watford’s resurgent display came through Sarr.
Game-winner
Watford stopper Ben Foster is under no illusions as to the difference-maker they now have in their corner for the relegation battle.
He said of the former Rennes flyer: “It’s scary really. It seems like everything is off the cuff every time he gets the ball.
“Once he can really drill down into what he knows he can do, the world is his oyster. The speed, the touch, the awareness, the precision, he’s got all of it.
“He just needs all of it to connect and be in control of it too. He’s a game-winner, it’s as simple as that.”
Now that their star man has returned, Watford may just start dreaming of survival again.
