Adalberto Peñaranda has had another setback in his Watford career as a recent development in his work permit saga reveals that he does not have the required documentation to play for the Hornets competitively.
The Pozzo family signed the highly-rated youngster for sister club Udinese in 2015 before transferring him to Watford a year later, with a view to the Venezuelan becoming a key player for the Hornets in the long term.
However, the 21-year-old has struggled to gain a work permit in the United Kingdom due to his lack of international experience at a high level.
Peñaranda has already spent time on loan Granada, Udinese, and most recently Malaga. More work permit issues, though, means that Peñaranda will likely have to spend another year on loan in Europe before making his breakthrough at Watford.
Gracia: “It is my job to improve him”
A part of the Venezuela side that were runners-up in the 2017 FIFA Under-20 World Cup, the forward has trained with Javi Gracia’s first team since the beginning of pre-season and was expected to feature on occasions throughout the 2018/19 season.
While a loan move looms for Peñaranda, Watford head coach Gracia insists he is the man to improve the striker’s game following a succession of poor spells away from the club in recent seasons.
He said: “First of all, he needs to solve the situation with his work permit. After that I think he is a good player, but he needs to improve his behaviour on the previous seasons when he has been out on loan.
“He hasn’t been able to keep his performances consistent with his loan clubs, but he is a young player and I think it is my job to try and improve him. I think all the players are going to stay with us and I do not think this player will go out on loan.
“It is true that with young players they sometimes need time to realise things and this is the case with Peñaranda.”