Cleverley happy to get another chance at Watford

Lyndon Lloyd Friday, 13 January, 2017 10comments | Jump to most recent

Tom Cleverley is hoping to seize the opportunity of a fresh start after securing a move to Watford, initially on loan until the end of the season.

The midfielder wrapped up his return to Vicarage Road where he first played on loan from Manchester United in 2009-10 and, if all goes well, he could sign for the Hornets on a permanent basis for £8m in the summer.

Watford will mark his fourth club in two years after he failed to live up to the rich early promise he showed at Old Trafford in his early 20s. Blooded by Sir Alex Ferguson in the mould of Paul Scholes, he became a full England international but has since faded and, after spending 2014-15 on loan at Aston Villa, he joined Everton on a free transfer.

Then manager Roberto Martinez hailed him as one of the most technically gifted homegrown players in the Premier League but Cleverley again found himself unable to hold down a permanent first-team role, losing his place in the side this season under Ronald Koeman.

“I'm 27, I'm in my prime, so, yeah, it's been a frustrating first-half of the season for me,” Cleverley told Jim White on talkSPORT today.

“I think I needed to get out, and Watford gave me a great opportunity to get my head down and play some football. So hopefully I can help the team until the end of the season.

“It was good for me to meet [manager Walter Mazzari] and we were clear going forward how I can help the team.

“I've got experience now in all areas of the Premier League — at the top with United, at the bottom with Villa and in the middle with Everton so I feel I can help out the team, definitely.

“For me personally I want to play as much as I can, assist and score as many goals as I can, and just to feel like a real footballer again.

“It's alright training every day, but you want to be playing on the Saturday and feel that buzz of being part of football matches again.”

Reader Comments (10)

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Kevin Rowlands
1 Posted 13/01/2017 at 19:17:24

Nice lad, very average footballer. Good luck Tom Cleverley, anyone feeling sorry for him go Google his Mrs, £50k a week plus rattling her, he's gonna be just fine.

Eddie Dunn
2 Posted 13/01/2017 at 20:07:48

At the top with Man Utd, a while back; at the bottom with Villa, and in the middle with us. Didn't save Villa, and didn't improve us.

Peter Morris
3 Posted 13/01/2017 at 22:02:52

Well, despite his limitations, he strikes me as an honourable lad, with not a hint of the prima donna which blights the Premier League playing roster.

Make no mistake, he will retire a multi-millionaire and has made the most of his talent by moving regularly and securing signing on fee after signing on fee. But anyway, God loves a trier.

Not quite in the Naisey mould, but almost.

Good luck to you Tom.

Bill Gienapp
4 Posted 14/01/2017 at 01:11:03

I don't think his cause was helped by being the "beneficiary" of some of Martinez's most deranged hyperbole. Remember when Martinez started babbling that you literally couldn't put a price on Cleverley in the transfer market?

Well, it turns out you can – and it's a loan with an £8-million option to buy.

Joel Jones
5 Posted 14/01/2017 at 09:37:19

Good luck to him He never let us down and played wherever he was asked. I don't think he was given a fair crack of the whip this term but he didn't moan and carried on professionally.

Better than some on here and social media depict but clearly doesn't want to be a squad player and rightly so.

Dan Egerton
7 Posted 15/01/2017 at 11:50:21

Thanks, Tom, and good luck. Hopefully you play well and we get £8 million pounds in 6 months.

Ajay Gopal
8 Posted 16/01/2017 at 17:02:59

I think he is a Premier League midfielder for the likes of Sunderland, West Brom, West Ham, Stoke, but not the really top sides. He is a good professional, and I think he could have been better utilised when we were on a bad run.

Good luck to him, hopefully he and Everton would have moved on by the end of his loan spell.

Mark Morrissey
9 Posted 16/01/2017 at 18:07:50

£8 million? 8 quid more like.

Teddy Bertin
10 Posted 16/01/2017 at 21:24:45

Eddie (#2)

Eh... I think you'll find that he did save Villa. He scored 3 goals in the last 5 games. 1 was the winner against us and 1 was the winner against West Ham. They lost their last two matches and stayed up by only 3 points. Tom's late run of goals kept them up.

Take your point though, he didn't improve us at all. Surprisingly didn't turn out to be the most "incredible free transfer in Premier League history" ... which will surely go down as one of the most incredible statements in Premier League history?

David Hallwood
11 Posted 16/01/2017 at 22:58:27

Good luck to the lad and it's a salutary lesson of calling a teenager the next big thing. He was tipped to be the new Paul Scholes and certainly looked good on loan with Wigan. But like a lot of young players he plateaued and fell away.

You only have to look at the number of Under-18s internationals that are plying their trade with Brentford and the likes.

Still, I hope he comes good; a solid no nonsense squad player.

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