Joao Pedro has spoken of his admiration for Watford captain Troy Deeney following their 4-1 win over Preston North End and said he hopes to learn as much as he can from the number nine.

Both Deeney and Pedro were on the score sheet in a performance head coach Vladimir Ivic described as "maybe the best so far this season" and the Brazilian teenager hopes to make the most of playing alongside someone with Deeney's vast experience.

The game was Deeney's first start this season after recovering from injury at the beginning of the campaign, but Pedro is now looking forward to having more opportunities to play alongside the skipper.

"I'm happy for him to start his first game of the season," said Pedro. "I think he's very important for us, as a captain, as a leader. So, I'm pleased for him.

Watford Observer:

"I'm learning a lot from Troy and I wish I can enjoy as much as I can from playing with him."

As well as learning from Deeney, whose penalty made him only the second player to score in 11 consecutive seasons for Watford in the post-war era after Ross Jenkins, Pedro also knows how much his game can improve just by playing alongside the 32-year-old.

The youngster said he hoped to follow in Deeney's footsteps and become a valuable asset one day.

"Obviously he's an experienced player and he's a very good player," he said. "He's strong. It he helps me a lot because he can control the ball, he can protect the ball and that helps me to to play and to organise the next play with the team.

"I want to play, I want to improve as a player and become an important player for the club."