Watford FC: Yaser Asprilla revelation emerges as Arsenal and Everton lurk | OneFootball

The Colombian winger has been playing for his country at the Copa America this summer.

Watford are said to be acceptant of the fact that Yaser Asprilla will leave the club if his valuation is met, as interest from Arsenal and Everton looms.

The Colombian winger is now into the final year of his current deal with the Hornets. After scoring six goals and providing seven assists last season, some clubs in a higher tier than his current one are eyeing up the 20-year-old.

The Gunners and the Toffees are two of the latest teams to be linked with Asprilla. The Mirror on Sunday reported in their July 7th edition (page 72) that Arsenal have been monitoring Watford's star wideman, and that he may be available for as little as £15 million.

On page 58 of the Sunday People, published on the same day as the aforementioned publication, Sean Dyche's side were reportedly linked with interest in Asprilla. They made an approach to try and get him in January, as per Pipe Sierra, but nothing came of it.

He only officially joined the club in January 2022 after the Hornets and Envigado FC agreed a deal for him to sign with the Championship club in the summer of 2021. He didn't play his first game for Watford until the following summer.

This news of a potential Premier League future for the 20-year-old also follows previous reporting that associated him with Barcelona.

Spanish outlet Sport said that Barça had an interest in the winger, but his €40-50 million (£34-43 million) valuation at the time meant that a deal would be hard to do, given their financial struggles.

Watford's stance on Yaser Asprilla interest

The Hornets know that they will face transfer pressure from other clubs over Asprilla, but The Athletic has said that those within the club understand that he is likely to leave if their valuation is met this summer.

Adam Leventhal, the journalist reporting this news for the online publication, added that Watford want to build around Asprilla if they can.

However, for Asprilla, the opportunity to move on to bigger and better things may be hard to look away from, and, if Watford sell him to a team like Arsenal, it will improve their reputation, showing other young prospects that Vicarage Road is a good place to come if you want to boost your career.

Watford have already lost one of their other young talents this summer. Ismael Kone, 22, left the club to join Marseille in a deal worth €12.5 million (£10.6 million) plus add-ons, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Selling Asprilla would be the smart thing for Watford to do

This time next year, if Watford haven't moved the Colombian on or tied him down to new terms, he will be free to join any team he wants, and the Hornets wouldn't be able to recoup anywhere near the type of money they would have made if they had sold him.

The prospect of international interest in Apsrilla makes the need to sell sooner rather than later even more vital, as he can agree a pre-contract agreement with a team outside of England in January, if he wants to.

With the 20-year-old in the side, plus the likes of Kone, they finished 15th.

Their best chance at making their way up the table is doing what they did last season with Joao Pedro; sell your good, wanted assets for decent money, and then try to reinvest it well into the team.

Even with Asprilla, there's no guarantee that his brilliance could drag them up towards the top six, so they may as well cash in now before it's too late.