Watford have no intention of selling Yaser Asprilla this summer.

Although many fans interpreted the Colombian youngster’s waves at both the last home and away game of the season as those of someone saying farewell, The Watford Observer understands the Hornets intend to keep the player who was one of the few bright, hopeful sparks in an otherwise moribund campaign.

While player trading will be an important part of Watford’s financial planning during the summer and ahead of the 2024/25 campaign, they believe they can realise what they need without having to sell the player that many see as the crown jewels.

Ever since he broke into the first team at the start of last season, Asprilla has been linked with clubs both at home and abroad, such as Real Madrid, Arsenal and Brighton.

The 20-year-old has four full caps and two goals for his country, and was voted Watford’s Young Player of the Season after a campaign where he made 47 appearances for the club, the joint highest with defender Wes Hoedt, although the Dutchman made 47 starts compared to Asprilla’s 30.

And the youngster certainly caught the eye and scored some superb goals – his epic strike in the away defeat at Norwich would have won Goal of the Season in most other campaigns, while his winning goals at home to Sheffield Wednesday and away at Rotherham were also top quality.

There was a feeling that the sale of Asprilla was pretty much a foregone conclusion given the club’s player trading model would mean they would use current assets to bolster their finances, particularly now parachute payments from the Premier League have come to an end.

However, The Watford Observer understands they need to realise considerably less than the money brought in by the sales of Pedro and Ismaila Sarr last summer, and the coffers have been further assisted by the significant increase in money from the new EFL deal with Sky Sports.

Coupled with that is the belief players head coach Tom Cleverley does not see as part of his plans could be sold for sufficient sums without the need to listen to offers for Asprilla.

The only caveat is that should a club come in with an eye-watering bid for Asprilla then the Hornets would have to at least think about it – however, it’s believed that would need to be at a level beyond which potential suitors currently value him.

Of course, there is always a chance such a bid comes in, but with Watford not needing or wanting to cash in on Asprilla because they have other ways of bringing money in means they can afford to be more bullish.

It’s understood the player is also happy to stay with the Hornets, believing that he can learn under the tutelage of Cleverley and his coaching staff while increasing the number of games he starts.

As well as six goals last season, Asprilla also weighed in with seven assists.

With Cleverley looking to play with one or two ‘No.10s’, it’s not hard to see where the Colombian would fit in next season either.

The Hornets paid Envigado around €3m for Asprilla in 2022 and he’s made 86 appearances in total for the club.

Cleverley said that there are some players he would desperately like to keep.

“In our position everyone has a price,” he said.

“But there are players we’ve discussed and I’ve voiced my opinion that I’d fight a lot more to keep.

“We’re very streamlined about how we want to look as a team, and with a great pre-season under our belts then we will look a different team to the last nine games of the season just gone.

“I see certain individuals really playing a part in that, and I would really like to keep them.”