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Emile Heskey has backed Max Watters to adapt to life in the Premier League if the Crawley Town hotshot joins West Bromwich Albion in the January window, speaking exclusively to HITC.
There are not many players who have succeeded in making an immediate step up from the fourth-tier of English football to the first.
And while Watters has been nothing short of extraordinary since joining Crawley from Doncaster Rovers in one of the most inspired free-transfer deals you will see this century, it remains to be seen how high the 21-year-old can fly.
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The Mail claims that Premier League duo Brighton and West Brom are willing to take a punt on the Football League’s most lethal marksman after a run of 16 goals in 17 games.
And Heskey, the former Aston Villa, Leicester and Liverpool frontman, believes Watters could do a lot worse than to take inspiration from another penalty-box predator who honed his talents in the lower leagues.
“Well, Jamie Vardy has done it hasn’t he? It’s been proven that (taking a giant leap up the footballing pyramid) can be done,” Heskey explains.
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“One thing I think, for someone like Max Watters, is to understand that there’s differences. Things are done quicker in the Premier League, defenders are smarter in the Premier League, goalkeepers are quicker and more agile in the Premier League.
“So you won’t get as many chances as you would get in the Championship or any other division – that will be a challenge for him. But there’s nothing to say that he couldn’t do it!
“(Watters’ form) is maintainable. (But) if you go up against a (Kasper) Schmeichel, I would expect to see his expected goals level go down a little bit!
“He’s definitely got the ability to make that step but I wouldn’t be expecting the same sort of output as he’s doing now.”
Swansea have had a £500,000 bid rejected with Crawley Town’s technical director Erdem Konyar telling the West Sussex County Times that Watters’ price-tag currently stands at £2 million.
In other news, ‘Another name we have to consider’: Fabrizio Romano gives update on Arsenal’s midfielder hunt