Abdoulaye Doucoure is aiming on taking Watford into Europe after signing a new deal at a club he believes matches his ambition.

The French midfielder put pen to paper on a five-year contract which ties him to the Hornets until the summer of 2023 yesterday.

Many believed a starring role in 2017/18 would see Doucoure depart for one of the Premier League’s top sides this summer, with Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal all showing an interest.

However, Doucoure feels Watford’s goals for the future are in line with his and he now has his sights set on Europe.

“I agreed to stay because I can reach more objectives with Watford. The club has the same ambition as me, so that is why I chose to stay here,” he told the club website.

“We have big ambition, we have brought in new players like [Gerard] Deulofeu on a permanent deal, so the squad is improving and I want to improve as well.

“I think I can reach another level – maybe we can reach the Europa League or stay in the top 10, so that is why I chose to stay.”

Doucoure’s influence at Watford has grown considerably since he joined the club in 2016 and he is now the leading light at Vicarage Road.

He believes the club has pushed on and become an established Premier League outfit and says the sort of players Watford are attracting is evidence of their growth.

He said: “We want to achieve something special and of course we can do that. I think the club has grown up in the last three years.

“We have continued to progress and the players who want to come here are very good, so of course we can achieve something very good.”

The 25 year old’s preparation for the new season has been far from ideal and Doucoure is yet to feature in any of Watford’s friendly games.

Doucoure revealed appendicitis was the cause of his absence and he is now hopeful of being available for Watford’s season opener against Brighton next Saturday.

He said:” I had appendicitis so that’s why I was not in the squad and didn’t play any games [during pre-season].

“Now I’m feeling very good, I came back with the squad and I hope for the first game of the season against Brighton I will be fit and I will be ready to fight to achieve what we want.”