‘His pace is amazing’ – Watford winger Deulofeu hails Sarr's impact

Watford winger Gerard Deulofeu has hailed the impact of Ismaila Sarr and backed him to become a key figure for the club.

The Senegal international has been delivering eye-catching performances since joining the Hornets from French side Rennes last summer.

Sarr has scored six goals and provided four assists in 21 appearances across all competitions amid other dazzling displays, which have endeared him to the club’s fans.

His best moment this season was against Premier League leaders Liverpool, where he scored twice and provided an assist to help the Hornets clinch a stunning 3-0 victory, thus, ending the Reds’ unbeaten run back in February.

Deulofeu, who has missed most of the second half of this campaign after knee surgery, is delighted with the contribution of the 22-year-old.

“It's really tough because I know my teammates are going to miss me because I'm doing really good things for the team," he told the club website.

“But there are more players who are going to take this opportunity. We have great players who are going to help the team and we're going to achieve our objectives to remain [in the league] of course.

“He's [Sarr] a really good player, really young, his pace is amazing and it helps the team a lot because when we do the counter-attacks from both sides – from my side and Ismaila's – the team can go up [the pitch] and it helps the team a lot.

“He gets good assists, good goals. In the present and in the future, he's going to be a really good player for Watford so we're really happy to have him in the team."

The impressive performances of Sarr ensured Nigel Pearson’s men moved out of the relegation zone after gathering 27 points from 29 games.

The forward will hope to continue his fine displays when the English top-flight resumes, having been suspended due to the outbreak of coronavirus since March.

On the international scene, Sarr has featured 26 times for Senegal since he made his debut against Namibia in September 2016.

The winger was part of the team that finished second in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, where he featured in five games.

Sarr has been backed to follow in the footsteps of his compatriot Sadio Mane and join a top club, after the Reds winger previously impressed with Southampton.