Quique Sanchez Flores says Watford ended their interest in Roma winger Juan Iturbe due to the winger’s demands for a starting place in the Hornets side.

The 22-year-old was poised to join the club on loan after Watford had agreed a deal in principle with Roma over the weekend.

Iturbe flew to England on Monday to undergo a medical and discuss personal terms with the Hornets. It was at that stage the deal collapsed.

The Paraguayan wanted guarantees over a place in Flores’ starting XI, something the Spaniard and Watford were not prepared to give so they pulled out of the move.

“Sometimes it is the decision of the player not to come and sometimes the club decides that he is not the right player,” Flores explained this morning.

“The case of Iturbe was very clear. He is coming to England because he is not playing enough games in Italy.

“But I couldn’t tell him he would play here (at Watford). So it is good for us and for him to look for a different situation.”

Watford and Flores deserve credit for sticking to their convictions. The Hornets head coach has said numerous times every player at the club has to work hard if they are to make the first team.

That won’t change and it is why the Spaniard hopes Watford are able to recruit players next month who are willing to be part of the club’s future. Not just the here and now.

He said: “If it is possible to sign players next month they’ve got to be thinking about helping Watford in the future.

“If they are involved in our future then they will not worry if they are not playing right away. The team now is good but we need cover in different positions.

“We need to bring in players who can be top level. If not we can’t improve. So if we can bring in players I want them to be able to play at the top level.”