Opinion: Watford should consider giving out-of-favour player a chance after Man Utd target joins QPR | OneFootball

Watford have had a good start to life back in the Championship this season.

With a tricky set of opening fixtures, the Hornets have taken seven points from their first three – a tally new head coach Rob Edwards would surely have taken before a ball had been kicked this campaign.

One position that has seen a fair bit of activity this summer has been the right-back/right-wing-back department.

With Rob Edwards favouring the use of wing-back’s, Kiko Femenia had been expected to be the key player on the right of the Hornets defence, but he departed for Villareal ahead of the new season due to family issues.

Mario Gaspar arrived, but having played as a full-back rather than wing-back, Manchester United’s Ethan Laird was linked with a loan move to the club.

That would have seen current Hornets right-back Jeremy Ngakia slip to third in the positional pecking order.

As such, Hull City transfer links arose, with the 21-year-old looking like he could be on his way out of Vicarage Road.

However, after two key recent developments, Watford should seriously consider giving Ngakia a first-team chance this season.

The first of those developments comes after Edwards switched to a back four for Watford’s Burnley clash on Friday night.

Quiz: 20 statements about former Watford players – Are they true or false?

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RICHARLISON IS CURRENTLY AN EVERTON PLAYER

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That saw new signing Mario Gaspar start at RB, although, in his home debut for the club, he did not pull up any trees.

Defensively he looked sound, but going forwards, question marks remain, although it would be unfair to cast total judgement until he is fully up to speed.

We’ve seen Ngakia do well in the Championship previously when given an opportunity, and if Gaspar doesn’t look overly convincing in the coming weeks, and Edwards continues to opt for a back four, Ngakia should be given his chance to impress.

The collapse of Ethan Laird’s proposed move to Vicarage Road is another reason for the club to keep Ngakia around and give him a chance.

Laird has joined up with QPR, and if Ngakia departed to Hull, for example, the Hornets would have just one full-back on the books.

That would leave them needing to dip into the transfer market, and it won’t be easy to bring in a quality player permanently without paying a decent fee, particularly at this stage of the window.

All things considered, then, Jeremy Ngakia should be given his chance to impress for Watford in the Championship this season.

Particularly if Hornets head coach Rob Edwards continues to select a 4-3-3 formation.