One to watch for Watford: Roberto Pereyra

The initial collision with his countryman Pablo Zabaleta looked innocuous, so much so that Roberto Pereyra headed straight back onto the pitch at the Etihad Stadium after a brief consultation with the Watford physio.

But on the half-hour mark of December’s trip to Manchester City, the 26-year-old’s knee injury proved too painful for him to bear and he was forced into an early exit – the problem would eventually be diagnosed as a torn meniscus and Pereyra missed the remainder of the season.

On December 20, six days after his last appearance in a Watford shirt, the Argentine went under the knife of top surgeon Dr Ramon Cugat and a promising start to life at Vicarage Road was cruelly put on ice.

(Tony Marshall/Getty Images)

There have been plenty of twists and turns in Pereyra’s career so far and he has played second fiddle on many occasion but in Hertfordshire, he was finally handed the opportunity to be the main man.

Before he arrived as Watford’s club-record signing for a reported fee of £13 million last August, the dynamic midfielder began his career with Argentinian giants River Plate but departed the club in 2011 after Los Millonarios suffered their first-ever relegation from the top flight.

The Pozzo family – the Hornets’ current owners – paid £1m to bring Pereyra to Udinese and he impressed sufficiently enough that Juventus eventually came calling for his services, shelling out €14 million in June 2015 after a season-long loan deal, for which they paid €1.5 million.

During the 2014-15 season, he operated as back-up to a stellar midfield containing Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal and Claudio Marchisio but still managed to make 52 appearances as Juventus won a league and cup double, as well as making the Champions League final.

He was also part of Argentina’s 2015 Copa America-winning side – he may only have made two substitute appearances during the tournament but rubbing shoulders with Lionel Messi and co can hardly have been a bad thing.

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In Italy, Pereyra played in every midfield position but at Watford, he is expected to provide an offensive spark, something he made a fine fist of doing in his first 13 appearances in a yellow shirt.

He notched his first goal against Arsenal in August and curled home a spectacular winner as the Hornets bested Leicester City 2-1 in November.

Pereyra’s rehabilitation has reportedly progressed well and when next season begins, the former Juve utility man will be champing at the bit to fully step into the spotlight.