Marvin Zeegelaar had been seen as little more than a bit-part player when signed on deadline day from Sporting in the summer, but his Watford debut turned heads at Vicarage Road on Sunday.

There is a reason Zeegelaar is a Dutch international but had been a bit-part player in Lisbon during his 18 months in the Portuguese capital.

The 27-year-old is fit as a fiddle but has never started 20 or more games in a league season for any of his previous clubs, and has had to bide his time on the sidelines at Vicarage Road while awaiting his debut - but bounded straight out of the starting pen against West Ham.

"Zeegelaar was very good, it was good for me to see and enjoy on his debut," head coach Marco Silva said. "I know him very well, he needs to keep adapting to a different country and culture.

"The Premier League is different but he knows our philosophy very well. He had a chance and he answered."

The battering ram of Andy Carroll's elbow clattered into Zeegelaar within 10 seconds of kick-off on Sunday, leaving him with a bloody nose and a physical welcome to English football, but the wing-back responded well and put in a top-quality performance.

Silva added: "I haven’t seen the elbow. It looked like a duel, but Carroll is a strong player. Marvin did not look great."