Watford sign Mexico International Layún.
On Friday, Watford announced the signing of Mexico International Full Back/Wing Back Miguel Layún on a four-and-a-half year deal from fellow Pozzo owned club Granada.
The move had been expected for a couple of weeks, after Granada announced the signed of Layún on the 30th December on a five-year-deal, but said he would spend the rest of the season on loan at Watford.
Layún was in the stands to watch Watford against Chelsea, and there was an element of surprise when of Friday, the Hornets announced the signing of the 26 year old on a permanent four-and-a-half year deal.
The 26 year old is something of an icon back in Mexico, having over 1 million followers on twitter and numerous fan clubs who support the full backs endeavours.
He started off his career at Veracruz in 2006, where he made 31 appearances in three years at the club scoring once.
In the summer of 2009, Layún became the first Mexcian to play in Serie A when he joined Italian side Atlanta. The move didn’t work out for Layún, as he made only 2 appearances, and moved back to his native Mexico in December 2009 with Club America.
At Club America, he became a club icon and fan favourite. He captained the side on numerous occasions during 2014 and also scored all four goals for the club in a 4-1 victory over Santos Laguna. In four years at the club he made 142 appearances scoring 15 goals. He scored the final penalty which sealed victory for Club America in the Clausura final against Cruz Azul which sealed the League Championship.
Layún also represented Mexico at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, starting all four of Mexico’s games as they reached the last 16 where they were knocked out at the hands of the Netherlands. He has 22 caps to date and has scored 3 goals for Mexico.
From what I’ve seen and heard of Layún, he sounds like a quality player and could turn out to be an excellent acquisition from the Pozzo family for Watford as they aim to equip Slavisa Jokanovic with the right players to fire the Hornets to promotion from the Championship. However, it remains to be seen if Layún will settle in England and will be a successful player in the Championship, having struggled in Italy 5 seasons ago.
If he can perform anything like what he has for Mexico and Club America, then Watford have a great player on their hands.
Welcome to Watford Miguel!