The rumour mill has been in overdrive this week with reports that Yaser Asprilla is not happy at Watford. Head coach Valerien Ismael’s response? It’s not true.

Chairman Scott Duxbury said the Colombian youngster is going nowhere at last night’s At Your Place event, but still links with the likes of Newcastle and Brighton appear for the midfielder.

Fuelled by Asprilla not featuring against either QPR on Saturday or at Stevenage on Tuesday, the rumours suggest the player would like to leave little more than a year after arriving at Vicarage Road.

“I can’t comment on the talk about Yaser because it’s not true,” said Ismael, indefatigably.

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“He’s training every day, he’s focussed and he’s happy to be here. We don’t know where it’s come from.

“We have only had two games. We have had some situations in both games where we needed to change, and in the second game we had an injury so we had to make a change.

“So we just need to be patient. It’s only two games, and just one league game. Tomorrow is another game.

“For sure we want to give him the chance and we will see him. I want to see him as well.

“But we need to pick the right moment for him, and he will get a chance to hopefully show his quality like he did in pre-season.”

Ismael feels the youngster’s versatility and ability are obvious.

“He can play multiple positions, this is the good thing with Yaser,” he said.

“He’s young so he needs to learn some positions as well, but we see his quality. He’s fast, very strong in one v ones, he has creativity around the box. He needs to be effective now.

“It’s not just about playing and having a fancy game, it’s about being effective and to come into areas where you can score goals, you can have an assist or you can create something.

“He has all the qualities and Yaser’s time will come. He has to be patient, like the other players.

“Some players we see straight away, some players it will take a little bit longer. But at some point we will see them.”

There was almost a sense that Ismael wants to protect Asprilla rather than just throw him straight in.

“He has the capability and the skill, definitely. But he is young and as a young player it is about the consistency in your performance,” he said.

“Are you able to put the performance in every day in every training session and then every week to play every three days?

“I think, at the minute, this is the balance we need to find with Yaser.

“We are convinced in him, he will help the team. It’s his job now to find the right focus and make sure he puts in performances with consistency.”