Hasne Kamara has had two very different spells at Watford over the last few seasons, well, two turned into one.
The left-back joined the Hornets from Nice in January 2022. He played the second half of the season in the Premier League but was then sold permanently to Udinese in the summer.
Shortly thereafter, he was loaned back to Watford before the Italian side brought him back for the 2023/24 campaign.
The 32-year-old is an important part of the Serie A team, having established himself as a regular player over the past three seasons.
The praise has now come from Pierpaolo Marino, who worked closely with the Pozzo family and Udinese from 2019 to 2023.
Marino brings Kamara from Watford
The director spoke to Udinese tonight about a number of things relating to Kosta Rungic's side. He chose to particularly praise Kamara, who has played 16 times in Serie A this season despite injury concerns.
He highlighted its importance and praised its ability to transcend.
Marino said- relayed by All Udinese: : "When I was here, I followed Watford. Kamara makes crosses with a turn that allows the attacker to score more easily. He crosses with impeccable technique, he knows it, and that's why he says one assist is not enough."
He also used a reference to a quote from Diego Maradona and seemed to be indirectly comparing the left-back to the legend.
"This is also true [Lorenzo] Lucca is no longer in the box. Davis isn't exactly an expert in heading, and neither is Zaniolo. To preach a good sermon also requires a listener.
"Maradona used to say that he crosses with the ball, when the ball comes, the attacker just has to touch it and put it into the net. Kamara has that quality to a certain extent."
While comparisons to the late Argentinian are exaggerated, Marino has a point. Kamara has shown his excellent crossing ability, assisting four times last season.
Watford made significant gains
This is a way of justifying the signing by Marino himself, as Watford made approximately €19m from the sale.
At the time, Kamara was around 20 years old and the Hornets had spent less than €5m to sign him.
The defender has had a great career and Udinese find themselves tenth in the table. They could still return to Europe and that would be fair reward for the Ivorian's progress.
