- Gerard Deulofeu is set to make his Watford debut against Stoke on Wednesday
- Deulofeu joined the club on a season-long loan deal from Barcelona this week
- Watford assistant boss Zigor Aranalde praised him ahead of their tie with Stoke
- Aranalde is confident the Spanish winger can help them out of their recent rut
Watford’s new loan signing Gerard Deulofeu will be thrown into action at Stoke on Wednesday night as the club bids to overturn its dramatic slump in form.
The Hornets have managed just one win from their last 11 Premier League matches, and were dumped out of the FA Cup by Southampton last weekend.
The 1-0 defeat on the south coast provoked a chorus of boos from the visiting supporters with defender Jose Holebas appearing to confront a section of disgruntled fans at the final whistle.
Watford new boy Gerard Deulofeu trained on Tuesday and is set to make his debut at Stoke
Deulofeu posted a snap of himself on Twitter after training with his new side for the first time
Deulofeu, the former Everton midfielder, completed his move to join the struggling Hornets from Barcelona until the end of the season on Monday evening.
It marked the first signing for Watford’s new manager Javi Gracia following his appointment as Marco Silva’s successor.
And Gracia, absent from Watford’s pre-match press conference with flu, will hope the Spaniard, who has scored two goals in 17 appearances for Barcelona this term, can provide the spark for a much-needed turnaround at Vicarage Road.
The winger completed his season-long loan move to Watford from Barcelona earlier this week
‘We, as a club, are delighted to have him here,’ said Gracia’s assistant Zigor Aranalde. ‘We know the qualities that he has got and he is a fantastic player coming from Barcelona.
‘He has not had minutes at Barcelona and he needs to play and this is a magnificent club to go forward.
‘We know what kind of player he is. He is a Spanish international, and a Barcelona player. I am sure he will help us to achieve the objective.’
Despite feeling under the weather, Gracia will travel to Stoke and is expected to be in the dugout for his first Premier League match as Watford manager.
Watford assistant Zigor Aranalde (R) is confident Deulofeu can help lift the club out of their rut