Nigel Pearson identifies £25m Liverpool target as Watford danger man

Bristol City boss Nigel Pearson has admitted he is surprised that Watford star Ismaila Sarr has not been signed by a Premier League club yet.

Sarr joined the Hornets on a five-year contract from Ligue 1 side Rennes in August 2019 for a club record £30m and Pearson managed the wide man during his eight-month spell at Vicarage Road.

He was manager of Watford from December 2019 to July 2020 and was patient with Sarr, who scored six goals under the 59-year-old – including a brace in a memorable 3-0 victory against Liverpool.

It was perhaps his impressive performance against Jurgen Klopp’s side that led to the Reds’ reported interest in taking Sarr to Anfield over the last couple of years, with more recent reports earlier this year that a move to Anfield could still transpire.

Pearson was heavily impressed by Sarr in his spell at the Hornets and admitted how surprised he is that the winger is yet to have made the step up back into the topflight.

“I’m surprised he’s still there, I thought he would’ve been snapped up by somebody by now,” he said. “I know he’s had some issues with injuries but he’s a very exciting player, he’ll be a real threat because of his pace and his ability.”

Sarr has been one of Watford’s leading players this season with nine goals and seven assists in 34 Championship appearances. He is just one goal off of top scorer Joao Pedro, who is another player that Pearson managed.

Pedro joined the Hornets from Fluminense in January 2020 and will be likely start against City on Saturday, while new manager Chris Wilder also has experienced striker Britt Assombalonga at his disposal to face the Robins.

Pearson commented on Pedro’s strong progression over recent times but insisted that he is more concerned with his own players ahead of the match in Hertfordshire.

“Joao Pedro was signed when I was there, I can’t remember what he was then, maybe 18, he’s really developed,” he said. “They’ve got some really good players, there’s no doubt about that, but as I've spoken about to the players today, what we’ve always got to be is as collectively good as we can be.

“In that framework, players have got their own jobs to do individually, but our best chance of success is to have a very strong team effort because we can't compete with sides who come down from the Premier League. We have to have a different way of achieving success and ours is to develop a team identity with a few very good players in there, but that’s the essence to how we will achieve our success.”