Despite leaving the ground with gritted teeth on Saturday after Jermain Defoe’s almost predictable last-minute equaliser, I refused to let that cast a shadow over one of the finest individual performances of the season from Will Hughes.

The highly-rated midfielder arrived from Derby County in the summer for what now looks to be the bargain price of £8million. Despite not being a regular starter at the beginning of the season, Hughes took his opportunity with both hands when given it albeit at the cost of Nathaniel Chalobah’s unfortunate injury.

Hughes has only made eight appearances in the league so far this season for the ‘Orns, but has two goals and three assists to his name already. Having spent many years with Derby in the Championship a lot of questions were asked about whether he would be able to change his game to make the jump up to the Premier League, but in those eight games we’ve seen a maturity that shows he has adapted and settled to the pace and physicality of the league like a duck to water.

It bodes well then for Watford’s midfield that the increasingly likely departure of Abdoulaye Doucoure may not hit us as hard as we fear. Whilst of course Doucoure is an exceptional talent, the thought of a Chalobah and Hughes midfield next season is mouth-watering. That however, is another post for another day.

What Hughes’ performances throughout the season have shown however is that he deserves a chance to be at the World Cup with England this summer. Whilst I’m under no illusion that the chances of Hughes getting into the starting line-up ahead of the likes of Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard are somewhat unfavourable, the World Cup warm up matches against Nigeria and Costa Rica in June are perfect for Gareth Southgate to give Hughes an opportunity at making the squad, especially if Adam Lallana’s injury is to keep him out of the squad for the friendlies.

During Saturday’s game against Bournemouth we saw England’s latest debutant, Lewis Cook, the first ever Cherries player to represent the Three Lions. Cook was almost invisible in the first half as Hughes rang rings around the Bournemouth midfield, helping turn defence in to attack. He could have had another goal to add to his tally, had Troy Deeney not accidentally blocked his goal-bound effort.

Hughes was easily the stand-out player on Saturday, which is why I thought Etienne Capoue would be making way for Stefano Okaka on 75 minutes instead. Whether it was tactical or because Hughes couldn’t last the full 90, we don’t know.

Sadly however, Watford lost that spark in the midfield after Hughes’ departure. The busy bee (or rather, Hornet), pressuring the Bournemouth defence was no longer there and we didn’t have that link between the defence and the attack to keep things flowing.

Whilst the last-minute equaliser certainly hit me where it hurt, it was good that we could take comfort in that we have one of England’s brightest sparks turning out for the ‘Orns on what will hopefully become a more regular basis. And although Hughes has only made a small number of appearances this season they’ve all been filled with the energy and promise we saw whilst he was at Derby.

Pushing his way into the starting line-up in time for the World Cup is unlikely, but given his maturity and contribution to the team this season, the least he deserves is an opportunity.