Troy Deeney admits to being flattered by reported Arsenal interest but remains committed to Watford project

Staying put: Deeney has been convinced by Flores' vision for Watford
Flores-Deeney
James Benge7 January 2016

Troy Deeney has admitted his family are excited about rumours linking him with a move to Arsenal but does not expect to depart Watford.

The club captain has formed a formidable striking duo with Nigerian international Odion Ighalo; their 20 goals firing Quique Sanchez Flores’ men to the top half of the table and easing relegation fears.

Despite his impressive first season in the Premier League reports linking Deeney with a move to title-chasing Arsenal for £20 million still constitute a major surprise, but one that the 27-year-old welcomes.

“It is very flattering,” he told Talksport. “My son is an Arsenal fan and he read it in the paper the other day with mum.

“I don’t think he is happy I am staying with Watford. He thinks it is like FIFA and you can change clubs in the same day.

“From my point of view, and from Iggy’s [Ighalo], people want us and that shows we’ve been doing something right for the past six months. We have got a project to complete though and I think the gaffer has said what happens in the summer will happen.”

What does January hold for Watford?

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Ighalo has also been linked with a departure from Vicarage Road and claimed earlier today that he would find it very difficult to turn down advances from Manchester United.

With 14 goals already this season the 26-year-old is likely to remain a firm fixture in rumour mills despite his manager’s insistence that he will not be departing.

However Deeney has warned his club that it may be difficult for “Iggy” to turn down a move to Old Trafford.

He explained: “The main thing is he’s a bit of Man United fan.

“He’s watched Man United and Arsenal as they are always shown in other countries. If he left he would only leave for a massive club.”

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