Watford made their seventh signing of the summer transfer window on July 14, snapping up Udinese right-back Allan Nyom on a four-year deal. Speaking to the club’s official site from the Hornets’ pre-season camp in Germany, the Cameroon international is looking forward to his new challenge after numerous years on the continent:
“I think my experience from playing in other leagues will help me, but I know this division is different to Spain, and I need to work for a place in the Premier League. I’ve enjoyed the start I’ve had with Watford, there are nice players and there’s a good feeling here, so I want to play good for the team. I think my quality is good, and I want to help the team to stay in the Premier League. In Granada I played for six years, and it was a very good time. We started in Segunda Division B and we got to the first division, and that was very good for the club. I played with Ighalo and Ikechi at Granada, and I’m very happy to play with them at Watford.”
The History
Born in Paris, Nyom rose through the youth ranks at Nancy, before playing one season in the third tier of French football with AC Arles-Avignon. In the summer of 2009, the Cameroon international signed for Serie A outfit Udinese but was immediately loaned out to Granada.
Nyom instantly established himself as a regular starter at the Andalusian club, chalking up one goal in 39 starts during his debut season, with Granada earning promotion to La Liga through the play-offs. In his subsequent four years at Los Carmenes, Nyom missed just 17 league ties, registering one goal and five assists in the process.
On the international scene, Nyom elected to represent Cameroon, making his first senior appearance in November 2011 during a 3-1 win over Sudan. He was selected as part of the Indomitable Lions’ 23-man squad for the 2014 World Cup and played the full 90 minutes in a dead-rubber group match against Brazil.
The Prospects
Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores talked up Nyom’s defensive aptitude following his switch to the Premier League, saying that the Cameroonian’s unique skill set diversifies his options at the right-back berth:
“He’s a very good defensive player and I know him from Spain and the Cameroon national team. We have offensive players in his position like Anya and Paredes but he’s a different player who brings different characteristics. He’s a good defender, he’s defended against some of the best strikers in the world in the Spanish league so will provide us with good support.”
Nyom is of a different ilk to Juan Carlos Paredes – who adopted a wing-back role for a large portion of his 32 league starts last term. The Ecuadorian defender is the more attack-minded of the two – having racked up four assists in 39 appearances – yet is often criticised for neglecting his defensive duties. Ikechi Anya can also operate at right-back but was predominantly deployed as a right winger or left wing-back in the previous campaign. Nyom might well emerge as Flores’ first choice by virtue of his superior positional discipline, then, but there’s certainly no guarantees.
Assuming he can cement a regular starting role, Nyom’s limited potential for attacking returns renders him a peripheral figure on the Fantasy scene. One goal and three assists in the past two seasons is a paltry haul, particularly when the likes of Gabriele Angella – who is also priced at 4.5 – amassed an impressive 11 goals and seven assists over the previous two Championship seasons.
The former Granada loanee’s underlying stats buttress the notion that he poses minimal threat in the final third, given that his 11 shots would have ranked fifth among the Hornets’ defensive troops last term. On the flip side, Nyom did fashion 20 key passes for his team-mates, surpassing the efforts of Watford’s premier defensive creator, Miguel Layun (17 key passes).
Another factor worth noting is that Nyom is something of a card magnet; the defender has been booked at least nine times in each of his last five seasons in Spain.
In terms of fixtures, although the Hornets travel to Everton and City in the first four Gameweeks, they offer up a perfect home/away rotation with Bournemouth over the season, affording us a favourable run (AVL, WBA, SOU, LEI, nor, SUN, CPL, WAT) over the first eight Gameweeks. Although Nyom’s defensive qualities could improve his side’s chances of defensive returns – he was handed his debut in a 2-0 win over Paderborn earlier this week – his lack of attacking potential may well deter most from taking a punt.
