Having already brought in Everton’s Tom Cleverley on loan and Fiorentina forward Mauro Zarate on a permanent deal this month, Watford made AC Milan attacker M’Baye Niang their third singing of the January transfer window.
The 22-year-old has joined the Hornets on loan until the season, with an option to make the move permanent this summer.
The History
Born in France to Senegalese parents, Niang started out at amateur club Poissy before being spotted by professional team Caen.
He linked up with Caen’s youth academy at the age of 13, and progressed all the way to the first-team, making his debut in a Ligue 1 match against Toulouse in April 2011.
Niang bagged his first professional goal against Lens a few weeks later, and netted on two more occasions before the end of the 2010/11 campaign.
His progress did stall during the following season, though, due in part to an issue involving the signing of his first professional contract.
He remained at Caen for the 2011/12 season but only made 23 league appearances, scoring two goals and registering three assists.
The forward moved on in the summer of 2012, though, signing a three-year contract with AC Milan for an undisclosed fee.
Niang only really established himself in the Milan squad during the second half of the 2012/13 campaign, playing predominantly on the right wing.
He made 20 league appearances in total that season, managing just one assist.
The start of 2013/14 saw him remain on the fringes of the starting XI with the Rossoneri, so he was sent out on loan to Montpellier for the second half of the season.
He made 19 league appearances for the French side, totalling four goals and two assists.
Niang then spent the second half of 2014/15 on loan to Genoa, where he began to prove himself in Serie A, scoring five goals and adding three assists in just 14 outings, before returning to Milan for the 2015/16 campaign.
Niang missed the start of the season due to injury, but then enjoyed a run in the side at the San Siro, and ended the campaign having registered five goals and as many assists from just 16 league appearances.
He started this term in the Milan side, playing on the left wing, and managed three goals and a trio of assists in his first seven league matches before falling out of favour.
Niang has represented France at U16, U17 and U21 levels, scoring four goals in 18 appearances, but has yet to make his senior debut.
The Prospects
Given that Troy Deeney and Etienne Capoue are currently Watford’s joint-top goalscorers with five strikes apiece this season, there’s little doubt the Hornets were in desperate need of improving their attacking options during this transfer window.
Capoue has scored just once from Gameweek 6 onwards, while Odion Ighalo has really struggled for form this season, netting just once in 18 league matches, leading to speculation over his future at Vicarage Road.
The additions of Zarate and perhaps more so Niang should help reinvigorate the Watford attack, then, with the latter’s pace and dribbling ability likely to provide a new dimension to the Hornets forward line.
Speaking on his two recent attacking signings, Watford boss Walter Mazzarri had no doubts on their significance.
“I want to say that the club has given a very important message by signing these two players. I know for a fact that very big clubs inside and outside the UK wanted them. They are two great players, important players. They will for sure help us in the right part of the pitch and play my type of game.”
Niang is equally comfortable playing out wide or as a central striker, and that versatility may be handy given Mazzarri’s fondness for experimenting with different formations.
The 22-year-old could perhaps be ideal to play on the left of a front three in the 3-4-3 formation, with Deeney’s ability to hold up the ball and the link play appearing well suited to Niang’s strengths.
That is a position where Isaac Success is also perhaps best suited to though, so with the Nigerian near a first-team return following a hamstring injury, Niang may also be considered to play on the right.
Looking at Niang’s underlying statistics compared to those of Deeney and Stefano Okaka, another player who is likely to be vying for a starting spot in attack, it’s the Frenchman who comes out on top.
Niang has averaged a chance every 32.1 minutes this season, significantly better than both Okaka (53.1) and Deeney (79.5).
The Caen product has also created a chance every 74.9 minutes, slightly worse than Deeney (73.6), but far superior to Okaka (186).
However, it has to be remembered that Milan sit in seventh place in Serie A, and are likely to be doing more attacking than Watford in the Premier League.
It’s expected that Niang will be priced between 6.0 and 6.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), and that may represent reasonable value given that Deeney and Okaka are currently available at 6.6 and 5.3 respectively.
Also a factor at direct-free kicks, Niang clearly possesses plenty of talent, though there are some doubts over his attitude.
Speaking about the decision to allow Niang to join Watford, Milan boss Vincenzo Montella provided an insight into why Milan were prepared to allow the player to leave:
“He’s a player who has had highs and lows and he needs to improve something, and this season has only confirmed that. He tried and we got to the stage where we were all delighted with the results, even the lad was. Then we got to a point where he stopped, and I’ll pretend I don’t know the reason why, or at least I don’t want to tell you. He’s an extremely sensitive lad. He’s never overstepped the mark, despite always being right on the limit. I was not happy with his approach when he came on against Torino, and he recognised that.”
Mazzarri’s man management skills will certainly be tested by Niang, then, and it will be up to the Italian to get the best out of a player who is still regarded as having potential star quality.
It remains to be seen whether Niang will be brought straight into the starting XI by Mazzarri for Tuesday night’s trip to the Emirates, but with trips to Manchester United and Chelsea also on the agenda over the next six Gameweeks, it’s unlikely many Fantasy managers will be willing to take a gamble on the forward at this point.
But should he be able to settle quickly at Vicarage Road, Niang has the potential to be a factor in the mid-price bracket, where the form of players such as Swansea City’s Fernando Llorente and West Ham United’s Andy Carroll has seen the 3-4-3 formation come back into consideration.
Watford’s next few matches will be worth monitoring closely, then, with the three new signings expected to play a significant part in halting a run of seven league matches without a win.
