Javi Gracia says Ben Wilmot has the intelligence to play as a midfielder and believes the teenager’s long-term future lies in the centre of the pitch.

A centre-back by trade, Wilmot is still the best part of two weeks shy of his 19th birthday but has shown plenty of maturity in his short Watford career to date.

The summer signing, who arrived from Stevenage for £1 million, made his Premier League debut on Saturday, replacing the injured Sebastian Prodl late in Watford’s defence.

While his maiden Premier League outing came in the central defensive role he is more accustomed to, Gracia feels Wilmot will ultimately make a career in centre-midfield.

The Watford head coach said: “I think he is an option at centre-back but in this moment, if I am being honest, I can tell you I prefer him to play as a midfielder.

“He showed in the first Carabao Cup game against Reading he can do both when we changed formation. We started with two centre-backs and Ben in midfield then changed and put three at the back. Ben was one of them”

Making the step up from League Two to English football’s top tier is enough of a challenge in itself without having to learn a whole new position in the process.

For Gracia, though, Wilmot has everything required both physically and mentally to do just that.

He said: “First of all, I think he is intelligent and he can do it because he has the characteristics to play there (midfield).

“After that, he is clever and he is playing as a midfielder. With his qualities, he can play in midfield as well as defence.”

Wilmot provided further evidence to support Gracia’s stance in the Carabao Cup meeting with Tottenham Hotspur earlier this term, performing well at the heart of midfield.