COMMENT
Isaac Success has failed to score in his last 13 Premier League matches, his longest drought ever in professional football, but what exactly has gone wrong?
In 2016, Watford forked out a club-record fee to bring the forward to Vicarage Road following his impressive run with Granada, but since Success's arrival, it's fair to say that the Hornets have not received great value for their money as the Nigerian looks to have lost his Midas touch.
The 21-year-old made a low-key debut on August 27 2016, and registered his first goal four games later against Bournemouth.
After that, the one-cap Super Eagles hitman has played 13 times for Watford, failing to find the net even once – which could be a cause for his team’s blip over the past few games
In last Saturday's 2-0 defeat to Hull City, he offered next-to-nothing as he failed to muster one shot on target during a game in which he was entrusted with the responsibility of leading the Hornets attack after replacing Nordin Amrabat, and it remains to be seen whether he will start against Liverpool on Monday evening.
David Rogers/Getty Images
Aside his injury worries, it is difficult to explain Success’ problems, although one theory is that he is less comfortable with Walter Mazzarri’s tactics than he was in his previous set-up at Granada.
However, former Real Madrid midfielder, Mutiu Adepoju has contrary opinion – he feels the forward is still trying to adapt to English football, while suggesting he works harder during trainings to get back to his best.
''There's no cause for worry about [Success's] lack of goals, every good striker undergoes a drought at one point in time or the other,’’ Adepoju told Goal.
''For now it could be difficult for him getting the goals because at Watford, he plays more as a supporting striker but I believe with hardwork and focus especially during training, he will surely get back his form.''
Despite Success’ struggles, he remains a key figure in Mazzarri’s squad and still gets a fair share of action on matchdays despite the January arrivals of M'Baye Niang and Stefano Okaka.
The season may be drawing to a close, but the Nigerian must start firing on all cylinders as soon as possible for the sake of his club and for his own future. Should he continue with this unproductive spell – he might just be shipped out of Vicarage Road at the end of the season.
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)