“A lot of fun” – Watford FC player tipped for big future after Celtic snub

After joining Watford from Celtic in the summer, Rocco Vata is expected to have a big future there.

In July, the youthful winger sealed his exit from Parkhead by agreeing to a four-year contract with the Hornets, making him Watford’s second summer transfer window acquisition.

Only £237,000 in training compensation was Watford’s obligation to pay Celtic for Vata, who was allegedly being pursued by teams in Belgium, Germany, and Italy in addition to other unidentified domestic competitors.

Vata was one of the most remarkable young talents in Scottish football, and Celtic had planned to hold onto him until he rejected their offer of a new contract. Vata was the subject of fierce competition.

It felt like a real coup at the time and Watford supporters have since taken to Vata, who enjoyed white-hot pre-season form and has offered exciting cameos from the bench thus far in the new competitive campaign despite not yet becoming a key figure in the first-team picture.

The 19-year-old’s only start of the 2024/25 Championship campaign after nine matches was in last month’s 4-1 drubbing at Norwich City and he has appeared as a substitute against Coventry and Preston North End, although he did feature in all of Watford’s three EFL Cup fixtures and has shown enough from limited minutes to make a real impression.

Rocco Vata tipped for big Watford FC future

When asked to select one Watford player who he thinks may be the next big thing at Vicarage Road, our resident Hornets fan commentator, Justin Beattie, instantly named Vata.

“Rocco Vata, who we acquired from Celtic in the summer, is our next young player who’s going to be a breakthrough star,” Justin said to Football League World.

“He appears to be a lot of fun and the kind of player who’s happy to go forward and take a shot outside of the box, but we haven’t seen a lot of him yet.

“When he comes on in substitute appearances, he always looks lively.

“I think Vata could be the one that’s going to be the breakthrough star, even though he started at Celtic and not Watford, I think his career is going to properly begin and blossom at Watford so keep an eye out for him.”

Exciting young talent is emerging at Watford FC

Angelo Ogbona and Moussa Sissoko are two highly regarded players that Tom Cleverley may have acquired to his roster during the summer. Still, Watford has an attractive group of up-and-coming young players, including Vata, who might potentially bring in substantial sums of money for the team in the years to ahead.

Apart from the brilliant winger, Kwadwo Baah, a 21-year-old who is finally making his mark in professional football and just scored the game-winning goal in Watford’s 2-1 victory against Middlesbrough, is another youthful and promising wide player.

Watford are future-proofing their backline too, with the dual emergences of both Ryan Andrews and James Morris in recent seasons providing a sense of youthfulness to Cleverley’s defensive options.

Former Southampton youth prospect Morris has been a reliable option for a few seasons now, with his positional flexibility allowing him to play on the other side or as a central defender in Cleverley’s five-at-the-back system. Andrews, a 20-year-old right-back who came through the Hornets’ academy, played 40 times in the Championship last year.

All of this suggests that Watford fans, who have been understandably confused about the club’s direction lately, might be able to find some comfort in the fact that young talent is starting to emerge at Vicarage Road, with Vata possibly being the best of them.

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