Troy Deeney, Watford Agree on New Contract: Latest Details and Reaction

Watford captain Troy Deeney has agreed a new five-year contract with the club, ending speculation about his future. 

News of the striker’s deal came from the club on Friday.

Deeney took to Twitter recently to discuss his future after a flurry of transfer talk:

Watford's statement relayed further comments from their skipper:

"

This club really means business and I want to be part of this. 

I’ve listened carefully to everything the club has had to say to me recently.

We’ve talked things through in a sensible way—and it’s helped me fully deal with lots of my own thoughts.

When you’re right in the middle of something, maybe you take it for granted how quickly things are moving forward. I don’t think I’ve done that; but by talking it over it’s clear that Watford isn’t ever going to settle for second-best – and that’s how I want to feel about my career so it works for me.

"

As reported by Darren Lewis of the Daily Mirror, the Hornets rejected two bids for the player from champions Leicester City, the second amounting to a whopping £25 million.

For plenty it was an error on the part of Watford to turn the money down. After all, they’ll be seeking to cement their spot in the top flight of English football next season, and while Deeney is a functional forward, new manager Walter Mazzarri would have been able to sign a replacement and strengthen other areas of the squad with the money recouped.

Bleacher Report’s Rob Blanchette thinks the Foxes, who will be playing UEFA Champions League football next season, would have been overpaying:

While it does seem a huge amount to turn down given Deeney has only had one full season in the Premier League, those who watch the side on a regular basis will understand why they’ve rebuffed the advances of the champions.

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

That’s because the striker is a leader for Watford. Not only is he a vital source of goals, with 13 netted last season in the top flight, he’s a brilliant foil for other attacking players, with Odion Ighalo the main beneficiary of his presence last season. He provided seven assists in the 2015-16 campaign, per Squawka:

Deeney is dominant in the air and brilliant at pinning defenders back.

These numbers from OptaJoe show the influence the striker had in the final third for the Hornets in 2015-16:

Deeney owes a lot to Watford as well. The club stood by him when he was sentenced to 10 months in prison in June 2012, allowing him to come back into the team upon release when many clubs would have cast him aside. Now the striker has opted to show some of that loyalty in return.

It must have been a tough decision for the striker nonetheless. The Foxes played a brilliant, direct style of football last season that would have suited the striker had he made a move to the King Power Stadium; the UEFA Champions League would have also been a huge draw for the 28-year-old. But it’s clear Vicarage Road is very much his home.