Head coach Slaven Bilic hailed the signing of 20-year-old Canadian midfielder Ismael Kone as a great capture for the future, while stressing he was also looking to bring in other players in January who could hit the ground running.

The Watford boss said Kone would be a great asset not just this season but also in the future, but said he had to consider the fact that he was making another big jump in a short career that had already accelerated.

“I know that many clubs wanted him, and being part of the World Cup means I heard that about him again,” said Bilic.

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“He is a player that will definitely be for the future, and hopefully he can help us in the short term as well.

“His career has really taken off. He only made his professional debut six months ago in the MLS, now he has just played at the World Cup Finals.

“I watched him in games at the World Cup and I had watched him before that also. It is a great signing for the club and definitely a player that has a big future.

“The boy is moving continent, not to mention club, league and country. He will be here in January and I am sure he will help us in the next six months as well as in the longer term.

“Kone is a good player and definitely one for the future. I am not saying he cannot do it for us now though: he’s just played at a World Cup, and he’s not coming to us from a youth academy.”

What Bilic made clear is that with his midfield looking particularly stretched at the moment, that is one area he will definitely want to strengthen come January.

“We need players for the here and now too, especially with Cleverley, Louza and Gosling all out at the moment. We need someone who can put a shirt on and perform,” he said.

“We are working on that. We have to think about long term of course, but the most important thing for me and the club is having quality now, as that is what will get us the results to achieve our goal of getting back to the Premier League.

“So we are discussing it, we are working on it and we have our targets.”

Transfer targets and windows naturally led to Bilic being asked about the impending arrival of Technical Director Ben Manga, who the club have not yet officially announced in his new role.

“He was here at the training ground a couple of days ago. We had a chat and it was very positive,” said Bilic.

“Obviously he has a good network of players, and I liked what I heard in that conversation.”