Tottenham Hotspur defensive midfielder Etienne Capoue joined Watford in a club record deal on July 6, becoming the Hornets’ fifth pick-up of the summer transfer window.
Speaking on his move to Vicarage Road, the Frenchman admitted the switch will afford him an opportunity to play regularly after he struggled for minutes at White Hart Lane:
“I’m very excited to come here to join the club and to participate in this big project. For me it’s an opportunity to play. I need to play and to prove my qualities on the pitch, and I think Watford is the best thing for me. I hope I’ll bring my technical passing football, and my experience in the Premier League, and I hope we’ll do very well this year and stay in the Premier League. We need some experience because the Championship is very different to the Premier League. I’m looking forward to playing games and I’ll be focused every weekend, because our goal is to stay in the Premier League.”
The History
Born in Niort, a commune in Western France, Capoue began his footballing education at local outfit Chamois Nirotais. Stints at the youth academies of Chauray and Angers followed, before he teamed up with Ligue 1 club Toulouse in 2005. Having impressed for le Téfécé’s U18 side, Capoue was rewarded with a professional debut in 2007.
Capoue – playing alongside Moussa Sissoko – became a permanent fixture in Toulouse’s midfield the following season, chalking up one goal and three assists in 32 league appearances. Such were the calibre of his performances, Capoue was named as the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year. The France international missed just 15 league fixtures in the subsequent four seasons, tallying 12 goals and six assists in the process.
In the summer of 2013, Capoue was one of seven new faces to grace White Hart Lane in the wake of Gareth Bale’s departure to Real Madrid. Despite earning a starting berth from the second Gameweek of the campaign, injuries and a lack of favour restricted the physical enforcer to just 12 appearances (one goal, zero assists).
After stringing together an unbroken run of 11 starts at the beginning of the previous season, Capoue found himself marginalised thereafter. In light of Tottenham’s surfeit of central midfielders – particularly with the emergence of academy players like Nabil Bentaleb and Ryan Mason – he was deemed surplus to requirements, failing to even occupy a squad berth in 25 of the remaining 27 Gameweeks.
Having carded an impressive number of caps for the France U18s (four), U19s (14) and U21s (13), Capoue was handed his senior debut during a friendly against Uruguay in 2012. Since that date, the 26-year-old has gone on to tally a further six caps, with his solitary international goal arriving in a World Cup qualifier against Belarus.
The Prospects
Given his impact in the Premier League so far, it’s fair to say that Capoue will struggle to convince Fantasy managers of his potential. Sitting in front of the back-four in Tottenham’s 4-2-3-1, the Frenchman posted the joint-lowest shooting accuracy (14.3%) – alongside Paulinho – of any Spurs midfielder last term, having hit the target with just one of his seven attempts at goal. His deep-lying starting position also engendered a similarly unimpressive shot frequency (one every 133.9 minutes), with only Benjamin Stambouli (249.5 minutes) offering less in the final third.
A price of 5.0 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, whilst undoubtedly budget-friendly, is still dearer than fellow new boy Valon Behrami (4.5), who is expected to be stationed in the double-pivot alongside Capoue in a 4-2-3-1. Bearing in mind that Switzerland international Almen Abdi also comes in at 5.0 and tallied nine goals and two assists in the previous Championship campaign, despite making just 28 out of a possible 46 league starts due to injury, it’s fair to say that Capoue’s appeal is limited. Nonetheless, with regular pitch time looking assured at Vicarage Road, he will at least be given the chance to rediscover the goal scoring form that saw him thrive in his final season in Ligue 1.
The knock-on effect of his arrival could also see the Hornets’ defensive prospects take an upturn. Capoue’s average of 2.4 tackles last term was bettered only by two Tottenham players, whilst his 2.8 interceptions per appearance was also third for the north London club and superior to any midfield team-mate. Given that he also produced more clearances per match (2.3) than any Spurs midfielder and it’s fair to say that his ball-winning ability will be key for the promoted side.
As for Watford’s early-season prospects, their schedule throws up some tricky fixtures in the opening four Gameweeks, with trips to Everton and City on their agenda. The Hornets’ schedule alternates well with Bournemouth, though, and twinning Capoue with a Cherries asset would hand you a decent streak of eight home matches (AVL, WBA, SOT, LEI, SWA, SUN, CPL, WAT) to kick off the campaign with.
