Football
Emmanuel Dennis scored two goals last season and is now the second most productive player in the Premier League
Mohamed Salah is clearly the most productive player in the Premier League this season. No one has his 25 points (goals and assists), but who has his back? Cristiano Ronaldo or Kevin de Bruyne? No, Watford’s goal scorer Emmanuel Dennis.
Mohamed Salah is clearly the most productive player in the Premier League this season. No one has his 25 points (goals and assists), but who has his back? Cristiano Ronaldo or Kevin de Bruyne? No, Watford’s goal scorer Emmanuel Dennis.
Watford brought in several reinforcements in the summer and Emmanuel Dennis was certainly not the most famous one. Hornets fans were particularly looking forward to seeing the tidy midfielder Moussa Sissoko, with experience of the French national team, and Norwegian sniper Joshua King.
The signings of Juraj Kucka or Dennis seemed to be secondary. And given the Nigerian striker’s last season, it was logical, Dennis didn’t score a single league goal last season. The first half of the season he struggled in Bruges, even a guest appearance in Cologne didn’t help.
Through all competitions Dennis collected two goals and four assists, scoring only in the German Cup and in the Champions League against Real Madrid. He needed new motivation and the offer from a Premier League team was a godsend.
To the surprise of the Hornets fans, Dennis started as a starting line-up player and immediately made his presence felt with a goal and an assist in the Aston Villa net. Watford won 3-2 in the first round thanks to his signing and the Nigeria international cemented his place in the line-up.
But then Watford’s fortunes stopped and that had an impact on Dennis’ performance. He scored only one goal in eight rounds, and was only kept in the line-up by the poor form of his rivals and an injury to Joao Pedro. The turning point came on October 27.
Dennis came off the bench and helped turn the game around with a goal and two assists at Everton (2: 5). Since the Goodison Park clash, the speedy striker has been unstoppable, scoring five goals and assisting three times in eight games.
He is nicknamed the Nigerian Neymar and it is true that he has shown us a number of cool tricks in the first half of the season. His big weapon is also his first touch, he always knows where to work the ball or who to pass it to.
No one will be surprised by his good work with the ball either. Speed and dribbling are the main strengths of most African offensive players and Dennis is no exception. Two headers show that even in standard situations he can be counted on.
To be fair, Dennis does have weaknesses at 24. He’s very poor when it comes to long passes, but that doesn’t matter so much for a striker. Sometimes he is still blamed for long deliberation, simply Dennis is the most dangerous from the first touch when he can catch the opponent off guard.
And what team would the Nigerian Neymar fit into? Definitely Arsenal, who will be looking for a striker perhaps as early as the winter. Manchester City is also on the table, but the question is how Dennis would fit into Pep Guardiola’s demanding system. West Ham are planning to bring in competition for Michail Antonio and the London club could be the ideal transfer station.
Moreover, Dennis can also fill in on the wing due to his style of play and his partnership with Michail Antonio could be very interesting. There is speculation about Jarrod Bowen leaving and even if he stays the Hammers have a very narrow squad.
Source: Premier League