'It was excellent': Troy Deeney has an instant response when asked to name the most underrated teammate

There was a stage in Troy Deeney's career when the word “underrated” might have been better used to describe himself.

He WatfordEdit The legend was a tough person in his heyday; just ask the glut of Premier League defenders who faced him.

And the same thing happened to his Watford teammates during training, a place closed to regular fans.

It was there that a former teammate left a lasting impression on the Birmingham Native that others did not see.

Deeney aligned with different generations of former players Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia to the exciting Brazilian striker Joao Pedro, who is now making a splash at Brighton.

You could be forgiven for thinking the striker saw as many players come and go as he did coaches during his 11 years at Vicarage Road.

However, one player remains in Deeney's mind as the most underrated during his time at the club and it even took him by surprise one afternoon on the proverbial rainy Tuesday night at Stoke.

“Gerard Deulofeu comes to mind instantly,” Deeney told talkSPORT when talking about who impressed him the most in training.

“The injuries ruined it, but wow. Wow, how fast. I knew he was going to come in, playing on the left, I knew he was going to come in with his right foot, but I couldn't stop him.

“Able to hit that cross-knuckle whip he made,” Deeney recalled. “He's so good, and also very disciplined and dedicated.

“When it first came in, I thought, 'Oh, we've got a show pony here,' and it's probably not what we needed.

“And then he came in, and his first game was literally at Stoke on a Tuesday night, and it was raining, it was miserable, and we got a 0-0 draw.

4

4

“He was excellent. He did all the grafting and then he had a bit of a spark too.”

Deeney also reserved a special mention for his former teammate Maxi Pereira who left him equally impressed.

“The other one would also be Maxi Pereyra, obviously an Argentine international, but I didn't know much about him before he came,” Deeney said.

“But when he came, I said, 'Oh, that's why you played for Juventus.' You could put him anywhere and he didn't care.

“He told me: 'Give me the ball and watch what I do.' And yes, those guys had a different level.”

Spain international Deulofeu has been something of a journeyman throughout his career, which included a spell in Everton before joining Deeney at Watford.

4

After starting his career at Barcelona, ​​the exciting winger has been unable to find stability, having been loaned out six times since his professional debut in 2011.

Deulofeu left Watford in 2021 after three years at the club with a record of 17 goals in 70 games.

Among them was a superb performance in the 5-1 win over Cardiff in 2019, where he became the first Watford player to record a hat-trick in the Premier League.

The 30-year-old now calls Italy his home after sealing his transfer to Serie A side Udinese three years ago.

He missed almost the entire 2023/24 campaign after suffering a serious knee injury sustained in a match against Sampdoria in January 2023 and has yet to feature this season.