Nigel Pearson praises Watford's Gerard Deulofeu after Sheffield United goal

The Spaniard scored his third goal of the season on Boxing Day when he capitalised on Nathaniel Chalobah’s flick to sprint clear and beat Dean Henderson at his near post to give the Hornets the lead at Sheffield United.

Pearson’s side ultimately had to settle for a point at Bramall Lane, but Deulofeu delivered another hard-working display and the head coach has liked what he’s seen from the former Barcelona player so far.

The Watford boss reflected: “It was a great goal, a really good counter-attacking move and in the context of that game as well we knew that that was going to be an important part to the game because of how they play. It was really good that he was able to score a goal in that fashion and he came close with his free-kick towards the end as well.

“In my short time here what I’ve seen is a player whose really game effective, he’s explosive, he cares and I like that, and he’s got a bit of an edge to him which is going to be important. I’m pleased for him because he’s worked hard in the games and he’ll continue to be an important member of squad.”

The free-kick saw Deulofeu come within inches of ending the Hornets’ long wait for a goal direct from that form of set-piece as he curled the ball narrowly wide with the Blades keeper rooted to the spot.

Pearson said the Hornets are working on set-plays but conceded: “The amount of time we can spend on the training field at the minute is not exactly massive just because we’re recovering from games, and we’ve not made too many changes in games as well because the depth of our squad at the moment is not particularly deep.

“There are benefits as well because you play a relatively settled side, but in this series of games now over a short period of time it puts heavy demands on players.

“I think the most important thing is if they feel a bit more confident in themselves and each other hopefully we’ll see an upturn in fortunes, but we have to keep working really hard.”