He posted something on Instagram that seems to suggest he is back a Villa receiving treatment for his knee.
That's what happens when you make derisory bids of £250K. Pozzo snr probably paid more than that for his car.
There was a viscous rumour circulating today that the midfielder that Bilic and his staff want is.........the Luton Captain Plenty of disbelieve at that one
Their captain is Sonny Bradley who is a central defender though although maybe it changes? At 31 hardly one for the future . Allan Campbell is probably their best midfielder and is young at 24 but not sure he is available to get .
The rumour was Sonny Bradley, maybe Dicks wants him for the defence We need someone to partner Cathcart
Would make more sense but as I say not really a long term option ? Likes a tattoo! EDIT: Just read he is injured with a knee fracture . So would fit right in!!
Prophetic words? He certainly didn't have the best of games in yesterday's derby match against Hearts, ended up with a pretty low player rating. "A free-kick, needlessly conceded by Ryan Porteous - potentially playing his last game for Hibs amid transfer speculation - bounced dangerously in the area and Ginnelly reacted quickest, rifling in from close range." Sounds all too familiar for some of our recent defenders. Shouldn't judge him on one poor performance I guess, he has been pretty solid for them for a while now.
Henrique Araújo signed on loan for Watford on Friday evening and watched the game against Rotherham on Saturday. He started training with the squad on Sunday and should be available for the game at Middlesborough next Saturday.
Full article Henrique Araujo’s Watford loan move: Month of talks, €1m clause dropped, input of super-agent please log in to view this image By Adam Leventhal 5h ago 16 Watford’s acquisition of Henrique Araujo — considered one of the hottest prospects in Portuguese football — was not straightforward. You have to go back to mid-December — when the World Cup was heading towards a climax — to mark the start of a process that required the input of one of the world’s most famous super-agents. Improving head coach Slaven Bilic’s options up front was deemed a priority and the striker’s name was top of a wish list held by new technical director Ben Manga and recently appointed head of scouting Helena Costa. The latter had worked at Benfica before moving on to clubs including Celtic and Eintracht Frankfurt and kept a close eye on emerging talent at her former club as well as in her homeland of Portugal in general. When Watford’s new-look recruitment team first got in touch, allowing then-20-year-old Araujo to leave wasn’t on the agenda for current Portuguese league leaders Benfica. Thanks but no thanks, was the Lisbon side’s position. But the seed was planted. By that stage, Araujo had made a combined 20 appearances for Benfica’s first XI and B team this season. Most notably, he scored twice in five outings at European level: in a 3-1 victory over Midtjylland of Denmark in Champions League qualifying and in the 6-1 group-stage finale win away to Israel’s Maccabi Haifa. He’d been an unused substitute in four of the other five Champions League group games, had come off the bench five times in the Portuguese league and scored four in six for Benfica B. Last season, Araujo scored three in five (only one of which was a start) for the first team and 13 in 26 in the reserves, who play in Portugal’s second division, then carried that form into pre-season, scoring in wins over Premier League sides Fulham (5-1) and Newcastle (3-2). He has 11 caps for Portugal Under-21s and in his most recent international start, in November, he scored a hat-trick against their Czech Republic counterparts in a 5-1 win. Benfica coach Roger Schmidt — who was under consideration for the Watford job after Walter Mazzarri’s departure in 2017 — was, at that stage, content with Araujo backing up starter Goncalo Ramos and Petar Musa in the club’s post-Darwin Nunez era. Club president Rui Costa, the former Portugal international, hadn’t finalised their January window strengthening in that department either. Araujo’s €100million release clause, in a contract that he signed last year and doesn’t expire until 2027, reflects the long-term plan — and high hopes — Benfica have for him. Although he may not be worth anything like that amount now, if someone were to test Benfica’s resolve it is felt likely they would still have to part with approximately half of it. The ultimate plan is that before they cash in, he will become a regular for Benfica — and one day be worth even more than that release clause. Araujo and his family talked to Jorge Mendes, who has overseen the career of another forward from the Portuguese holiday island of Madeira in Cristiano Ronaldo, and other representatives from the super-agent’s Gestifute agency — including senior figure Joao Camacho — over the Christmas period. By then, Mendes had been reminded of Watford’s interest. The possibility of a loan move was discussed during that festive get-together, should Benfica sanction it. please log in to view this image Mendes was involved in the talks (Photo: Sam Bagnall – AMA/Getty Images) The possibility of linking up with Watford coach Bilic was considered a significant element of the mooted deal. Looking after Araujo’s development was important. During his managerial career, the Croatian had mentored the likes of compatriot and future Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric, West Ham’s now England international Declan Rice and Grady Diangana (who joined him subsequently at West Bromwich Albion) and Matheus Pereira (at the latter). Bilic’s standing in the game as a former international player and manager proved a key influence on Watford becoming the chosen destination, even though they are in the Championship. Benfica’s position began to soften in the week before the derby against Sporting Lisbon last Sunday. It was decided then that a new forward would be brought in, so opening the door to Araujo going out on loan. After a 2-2 home draw with their city rivals, Rui Costa discussed transfer plans with Schmidt and Benfica prioritised the signing of Wolves’ Portugal international and former Benfica academy player Goncalo Guedes, who had been left out of new Molineux boss Julen Lopetegui’s squad to face West Ham the previous day and would be again for the midweek FA Cup replay against Liverpool. As the Guedes deal accelerated behind the scenes, news leaked that Araujo would be on the move early Wednesday morning. Word of the apparent departure from Benfica emanated from local media in Portugal and was deemed premature by several sources The Athletic contacted who were close to the negotiations. The information, in their eyes, was more an encouraging signal to Guedes, who had other options, that space was being cleared for his return. There were still hurdles to overcome in talks between Benfica and Watford. It was always going to be a straight loan, but the devil was in the detail. Most notable was a clause inserted by the Portuguese club requiring Watford to pay €1million if Araujo didn’t play in at least 75 per cent of their matches during his time at Vicarage Road. That meant they would be obliged to use him in 14 of the remaining 19 regular-season games (including against Rotherham United on Saturday, if registered) or 16 of 22 if they got into the play-offs and made the final. The loan would run to whenever Watford’s competitive season ended. The issue threatened to become a deal breaker, with several strained phone calls between Hertfordshire and Lisbon. Although such clauses aren’t out of the ordinary, Watford’s position was that it was too high a financial penalty to include. Balancing the right development pathway in the rough and tumble of a Championship promotion race is tricky and picking and choosing Araujo’s moments, especially during a busy schedule, may be preferable to perhaps playing him too often to simply avoid paying out that €1million. Mendes’ intervention helped smooth the issue over and the overall premise of the move — partnering Araujo with Bilic in London (or near enough) — was promoted to Rui Costa and his staff at Benfica. On Wednesday evening, the clause was removed. please log in to view this image Bilic’s presence has been key in making the move happen (Photo: Athena Pictures/Getty Images) The delay meant negotiations continued into Thursday, which happened to be Araujo’s 21st birthday, meaning flight plans were put on hold to allow him to enjoy a significant milestone with his family. The deal was effectively done, though — bar a medical and the signing of the paperwork — with Watford set to cover Araujo’s full salary of £10,000-£15,000 per week for the duration of the loan. Bilic was comfortable enough to discuss the arrival at his pre-match news conference at the training ground on Friday morning. “I am very, very excited because there is no doubting his talent,” Bilic said. “He is a very, very positive signing. As soon as his name was proposed, I liked it. I fell in love with the guy. His movement… everything about him. We wanted him. I’m sure he will help us.” In Lisbon, Schmidt said: “It’s a great opportunity to develop in the Championship. I believe in him a lot. It’s a great opportunity for him to come back in the summer and show his full potential.” It was already clear Araujo wouldn’t be registered in time for the Rotherham game, with new signings having to be confirmed by noon the day before a match, and with no real urgency in that regard, he was booked onto a flight leaving Lisbon at 6:45pm and then taken to a Hertfordshire hotel on arrival to sign the necessary documents. In the intervening period, Benfica suggested Watford pay a €1million bonus if they go on to win automatic promotion — effectively replacing that playing-time clause — but it came so late in the dealings it didn’t make the final contract. Araujo signed at around 11pm on Friday. The next morning, he got his first look at training facilities, which had also been seen as a positive of the move, in addition to his loan club being close to London. He completed his medical, then sat with his agent near Helena Costa in the players’ families box in the corner between the Vicarage Road End and Sir Elton John Stand to watch what turned out to be a 1-1 draw with Rotherham. His former team-mate Joao Ferreira, who joined Watford permanently from Benfica earlier in the month, scored the equaliser to mark his first start for the club. There were tentative plans to introduce Araujo to the fans at half-time on Saturday, which will now happen during next weekend’s match against Middlesbrough, and he trained with the club for the first time on Sunday. (Top photo: Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)
I did consider posting the report, but I was concerned about the copyright issues. Agree that he looks very promising. An exciting signing!
I shouldn't get carried away ( oh why not ?) but he sounds like the next Mo Johnston. On the pitch anyway. Wouldn't that be something ?
