Last summer, Watford signed Nestory Irankunda for a fee in the region of three million euros, snapping up the at the time 19-year-old starlet from Bayern Munich. This deal also included many notable clauses, with various buy-back clauses and a sell-on clause rumoured to be in the region of around 50%.
This signing came after Watford missed out on another target, Papa Diallo, who eventually joined Norwich City. Nestory Irankunda was one of the marquee signings of the summer for Watford, with his arrival being a massive excitement for the fanbase and a demonstration of ambition from the club.
Irankunda has featured 41 times for Watford this campaign so far, with 39 league appearances as well as one game in each of the cups. Across the season, the winger has scored four goals as well as assisting another four.
It has been a story of highs and lows for Irankunda in his first season in English football. He started promisingly, scoring two fantastic free-kicks within his first five games in yellow.
However, he failed to find the net again for another six months eventually scoring a fantastic long-range effort against Stoke City to end his drought.
As shown in the stats below, Irankunda has some of the best possession statistics in the league. (Stats per 90, via FotMob)
Irankunda has performed well as a whole for Watford, despite numerous spells of underwhelming displays over the course of the season it is fair to say that he is most certainly a player who possesses some fantastic traits which we have seen in glimmers very frequently.
If the young winger can refine his game and improve his consistency, it is no doubt that he has a very, very high ceiling in his football career, especially given his age and athleticism.
“They want me gone so I’ll go..”
After the hammering Watford suffered at the hands of Middlesbrough recently, Irankunda took to social media to express his feelings about his current situation.
Irankunda posted this story on Instagram, it is worth noting that this came from a second and less followed account, as opposed to his main account.
The most important part of this story is of course the writing in the bottom right, which reads: “they want me gone so I’ll go ..”
Who “they” is referring to is up for discussion. In recent weeks, various fans on social media have said that they would be open to the idea of moving on the Australian forward, however it seems unlikely that Irankunda would be referring to a small number of fans online.
The most likely possibility is that Irankunda is calling out people inside the club. Manager Ed Still recently came out in an interview with a few strong quotes about Irankunda after dropping him prior.
The main quotes were:
‘He can’t rock up, expect to start and not perform.”
As well as:
‘He knows how highly I rate him but there’s a ‘but’. I think that’s his first goal from open play for Watford, which says a lot.’
It is also a possibility that it Irankunda could be referring to the board/ ownership. The player himself might want to stay, but the fact he would likely generate quite a lot from a potential sale could mean the higher ups at the club are pushing for an exit in order to raise substantial funds.
Given all of these circumstances, it is highly likely that Irankunda departs the club in the summer, as if he does not want to be here it is best for all parties that he does not remain here.
With the World Cup coming up, there is a possibility that Irankunda could generate lots of interest if he puts up some impressive displays at the global tournament.
Assuming availability, it is almost certain that he will see the pitch a lot, as he currently stands as one of the most talented attackers Australia currently has to offer in football.
Finding a suitor would not be a hard process, as he would undoubtedly have interest from English and European clubs given his talents and potentially good value price tag.
Norwich City fans have started to hope for his signing, and this could also be pushed for by his international teammate, Mohammed Touré, who has been in fine form leading the line for The Canaries.
According to Transfermarkt, Nestory Irankunda has a market value of 6 million euros (5.2 million pounds).
This is probably too low, and especially considering the 50% sell on clause it is highly unlikely Watford demand anything less than double what they paid in order to make a profit from the sale.
Given his age, talent and potential, I would estimate a fee in the region of 10-15 million pounds would be reasonable for the scintillating winger.
