Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Leeds United: Barry Douglas tipped to be a success at Watford
Former Premier League manager Alex McLeish has tipped Barry Douglas to be a success at Watford if he moves to Vicarage Road this week.
It has proven to be a busy summer at Elland Road in terms of transfer business with a large number of new faces arriving through the doors of the Yorkshire club.
Head coach Marcelo Bielsa has improved his squad options but with the domestic transfer window still open until Friday (October 16), a number of fringe players could potentially leave.
The likes of Gaetano Berardi left the club this summer and it is now looking like defender Douglas could be set for an exit too.
A whole host of clubs have been labelled with interest in the Scottish left-back, and former Premier League club Watford have now emerged as front runners in the race to sign the defender this week.
Douglas receives McLeish backing to make Watford move
With Football Insider claiming Watford’s interest, former Aston Villa boss McLeish has given his thoughts on whether or not the former Wolves defender would make an impact at the Championship club.
“Watford aren’t in the Premier League, they’ll be smarting the fact that they were relegated, they will feel like they have something to prove,” McLeish told Football Insider.
“Troy Deeney, etcetera, in that dressing room will be cracking the whip and telling the other players in that dressing room that we have to get back to the Premier League.
“To do that in the Championship, there has to be a massive level of consistency and Douglas has got that experience. If Watford go for him then you would think he would add to the squad.”
Douglas has made 44 appearances for the Whites thus far.
The correct move for Douglas to gain sufficient playing time
Stuart Dallas has promoted himself as the number one choice at left-back in Bielsa’s side over the last 12 months and one can’t really see Douglas getting many chances to show his worth with Ezgjan Alioski there as a versatile option too.
With a whole host of defensive options available to him this season, Bielsa is fully equipped for the competition and threat of the Premier League, having the likes of Luke Ayling, Liam Cooper, Pascal Struijk, Robin Koch, and of course Alioski, who have all been performing well over pre-season and over the start of the new campaign so far.
Douglas, will no doubt be eagerly anticipating Friday’s deadline day as he looks to start a potential new chapter in his career, but a move to Watford would be a superb one for the defender, especially given their ambition to bounce back and gain promotion back to England’s top flight.
Do you think Douglas would be a success at Watford? Can he help them get back in the Premier League? Let us know in the comments section below…
