Watford’s new recruit Samuel Kalu has played in four different countries, at international level and in European competition. Here are all the details you need to know about our new attacker…
Name: Samuel Kalu
Age: 24
Position: Forward
Former Clubs: GBS Academy, AS Trenčín, KAA Gent, Girondins de Bordeaux
English Opponent
Watford may be Kalu’s first English club, but the forward has played against English opposition before when he turned out for KAA Gent in Belgium.
De Buffalo's were drawn against Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League in 2016/17, and the north-London side were knocked out in surprising fashion.
Kalu played in the first leg and was on the bench at Wembley for the second leg, going toe-to-toe with fellow Hornet Moussa Sissoko in the competition.
Slovakia Move
Kalu’s first taste of European football came in western Slovakia, at AS Trenčín. Affiliated with GBS Academy in Nigeria, Kalu joined Trenčín in 2016 and won the Fortuna Liga in his first season.
A goal against NK Olimpija also marked the forward’s first goal in European competition, as Trenčín won 4-3 in UEFA Champions League qualifying.
Super Eagles Star
Like many other names at Watford including William Troost-Ekong, Emmanuel Dennis, Peter Etebo and on-loan talents such as Maduka Okoye and Tom Dele-Bashiru, Kalu is a Nigeria international, and already has 17 caps for his country.
Kalu made his debut for the Super Eagles in 2018, providing an assist in a 3-0 win over Seychelles, with his first goal coming in the next match against Libya.
Familiar Faces
Alongside his Nigerian teammates, there are other names who have crossed paths with Kalu during his career so far.
Troost-Ekong and Kalu made their debuts for Gent at the same time in 2017, and Kalu also faced Edo Kayembe and Dennis, who played for Anderlecht and Club Brugge respectively, in Belgium.
In France, new Watford signing Hassane Kamara had to defend against Kalu on several occasions when Nice faced Bordeaux, with Imrân Louza’s Nantes and Ismaïla Sarr’s Rennes also taking on Les Girondins.
Super Sub
Kalu’s most recent goal was an excellently taken individual effort.
Coming off the bench with the score 3-2 to Montpellier in a Ligue 1 fixture, Kalu equalised in impressive fashion, dribbling past three, controlling the ball mid-air after an awkward bounce, and volleying into the net at the near post.
