Watford have signed Etienne Capoue from Tottenham Hotspur for a club record fee, believed to be around the £6m mark.
Capoue, 26, was one of seven players who Spurs brought in with the ‘Gareth Bale money’ after the Welshman left for Real Madrid, and he has had a turbulent two years at White Hart Lane.
The midfielder joined for £8M from Toulouse in France, after a highly impressive season in Ligue 1. However, he made only 24 Premier League appearances in two years at Spurs, 12 last season and 12 in the previous. He scored one league goal, in a 5-1 defeat to Manchester City.
Watford have signed a no-nonsense central defensive midfielder, who is good in the tackle. However, Capoue has not shown that he is capable of fighting during his time in England, which he will need to do at Watford, who are expecting to experience a relegation battle on their return to the top flight.
The Hornets are building quite the squad this summer and Capoue follows Sebastian Prödl and Matej Vydra in joining the club. Jose Holebas was also thought to have signed on at Vicarage Road, but has denied doing so.
As for Spurs, the fee resembles a remarkable success. A rumoured £6M for a flop, who was bought for a slight amount more in 2013. The Frenchman is the second of the famous second signings to leave the club, after Paulinho completed a switch to China, which also brought in a significant amount of money.
