When Cristian Battocchio joined Serie B side Virtus Entella on loan from Watford last summer it was a move that disappointed one man more than most. That man was Fernando Forestieri.

Given the similarities between the duo, it is hardly surprisingly they formed a strong friendship at Watford.

Both were born in Rosario in Argentina. Both moved to Italy at the age of 16. Both decided to represent Italy at youth level rather than their home country. And both joined the Hornets, initially on loan, 2012.

After two seasons together, Watford decided to send Battocchio back to Italy on loan. The club believed they had better options in midfield.

He has made 22 league appearances for Virtus Entella and has scored three times.

Forestieri is happy for his friend but joked: “I speak with him and every time I ask him: “Why did you leave Watford? He is happy though because he is playing every week. If he is happy I am happy for him. But I hope he comes back, maybe with us in the Premier League.”

One of the players Battocchio found himself behind at Watford is Almen Abdi. The Swiss maestro has recently returned from injury and Forestieri believes the 28-year-old is “the best player at the club”.

He explained: “Almen does everything. He gets the ball, he plays the ball, he scores, he helps the defenders and he helps the strikers. When he came back, he helped Watford more because his quality is unbelievable.”

Despite their position in the Championship play-offs, it has been a turbulent campaign for Watford. The club have had four head coaches and current boss, Slavisa Jokanovic, stopped five players training with the first-team.

Keith Andrews was the first and his loan from Bolton Wanderers was eventually cancelled. Lloyd Dyer, Lewis McGugan, Mathias Ranegie and Diego Fabbrini followed and each player agreed a loan move away from Vicarage Road in January.

Forestieri was asked if he felt Jokanovic made the right choice by excluding those five players. He said: “With those players not training with us, then maybe for the group it is good. Those players had problems outside the pitch with the manager but I can’t speak about this. I look at the team now and I am happy.”