Watford's return to the Premier League may not necessarily excite that many people in this part of the world, but things could get a lot more interesting if a young Irish prospect can make a breakthrough at the club.
Bosun Lawal joined Watford from St Kevin's in 2019, and while he has only been at Vicarage Road for a couple of years, he has already made a big impact at the club.
The midfielder has starred in their underage setup in recent times, also making the step up to U23 level in recent weeks despite being only 17-years old.
The club's U23 coach Omer Riza was certainly impressed with his impact at that level, saying:
He's taken to 23s football like a duck to water. He was good in and out of possession, strong and powerful and he's going to be a good player for us.
It's a good debate about whether he is a centre-half or a central midfield player. I'm not going to pigeonhole him. I just think it's great he can play at the back and step into midfield and also defend so well aerially.
I'm looking forward to seeing him develop.
The player has now been rewarded for his progress by being named Watford's Academy Player of the Season.
It is clear they are a big fan of the midfielder at Watford and that includes club captain Troy Deeney.
He was asked about his thoughts on Lawal, saying he is one of the few youngsters in the game you can look at and be certain that they will have a successful career ahead of them.
"𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙚𝙮𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙧, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩."@T_Deeney on @BosunLawal3, the Academy Player of the Season ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/H4Nh7Bu42i
— Watford FC Academy (@WatfordFCAcad) May 12, 2021
I saw him against Newcastle, I thought he did well that day. Three or four days later they played Sheffield United and I was there we stood there and watched him.
You know what, he's got a little bit of [Abdoulaye] Doucoure about him. He can got passed people effortlessly and keep striding, he has that big long stride. I thought he did really well.
Three or four days after playing in the U23s, he played another 90 minutes and it was effortless to him.
I think there's not many young players that catch your eye and you think 'he's going to have a career', but he certainly does that.
Lawal has represented Ireland from U15 level, being included in the U17 squad during their most recent international window in November of 2019.
Set to turn 18-years old later this month, he will be hoping to kick on and move a step closer to first team football over the rest of 2021.
SEE ALSO: Ryan Johansson Is Finally Allowed Declare For Ireland
