He may be 32 with a big reputation in Spain, but new Watford signing Iriney Santos has told his head coach he feels “like a little boy” after achieving his dream of playing in England.

Granada announced on Wednesday that the player known simply as Iriney would be joining the Hornets on loan for a year but the Watford Observer understands the club plans to sign Iriney permanently.

Iriney, who trained with the Golden Boys for the first time yesterday, has spent 11 seasons in Spain, made 236 appearances during that time and had spells at Rayo Vallecano, Celta Vigo, Almeria and a three-year stint at Real Betis before joining Granada last summer.

Watford boss Gianfranco Zola has not seen the player live but was impressed with the video footage and the Brazilian received a ringing endorsement from goalkeeper Manuel Almunia.

“Iriney has a big reputation in Spain and if you speak to Manuel, he was really impressed with this signing,” Zola said.

“He came late and will have big competition – he knows that – but I really liked his approach; he said ‘I have been dreaming of coming to England and I am happy like a little boy to be here’.

“To be 32 and experienced in Spain and have that attitude is remarkable.”

Iriney was a regular starter for Granada during the first half of last season but then the club opted for a more creative option after they signed Recio on loan from Malaga.

The player is very robust in his challenges which meant he often found himself in referees’ notebooks.

Whilst he is a defensive midfielder and is strong in the tackle, he is technically sound and is considered a natural leader on the pitch.

Watford have been looking for an experienced holding midfielder since captain John Eustace left the club this summer.

And Zola confirmed: “Yes [he is a replacement for Eustace]. That was the main reason [Watford signed him].

“We have offensive midfielders like Lewis McGugan, Diego Fabbrini – who I am trying to see if he can play in that position – and Almen Abdi. Because of that we need to have a more defensive midfielder to play in front of the defence. That was the reason we decided to sign him.”

There have been reports that the Hornets want to sign John Lundstram from Everton but we understand that is no longer the case and the attacking midfielder was considered before the Golden Boys completed the signing of McGugan.

The Hornets have a policy of rarely commenting on or confirming transfers until they are formally completed, which explains why they have yet to confirm Iriney or any of the other new signings’ arrivals.

Watford are still waiting for the Football League, FA, UEFA and FIFA to ratify the transfers of several players from Udinese and Granada after submitting the relevant paper work last week.

But we understand the club remain extremely confident there will be no issues with any of the pending signings.

- The popular Alex Geijo is back at the club’s London Colney training base with the rest of the squad after returning during the pre-season trip to Italy. But we understand – as it stands - he is unlikely to be staying with the Hornets.