Midfielder Yaser Asprilla has left Watford and signed for La Liga side Girona in a move believed to be worth in excess of £20m, with the potential of more to come if clauses are met.

The Spanish side finished third in the league last season and have qualified for the Champions League for the first time.

The 20-year-old signed for the Hornets from Colombian side Envigado for around £2m in January 2022, and was immediately loaned back to complete the season.

He linked up with Watford at their summer training camp in July under the then head coach Rob Edwards.

The midfielder made 39 appearances in that first season under three different managers: Edwards, Slaven Bilic and Chris Wilder.

He was largely used a substitute though, with 23 of his 37 Championship outings coming from the bench.

Last season he made 47 appearances – 30 of them as a starter and scored goals as well as picking up eight assists.

His stunning strike in the away game at Norwich will live long in the memory, and his performances earned him the club’s Young Player of the Season award.

National recognition came his way while at Vicarage Road, and he has six caps and one goal for Colombia.

He played for his country at the recent Copa America, where they went all the way to the final before being beaten by Argentina.

At the end of the season, Watford made it clear they did not intend to sell Asprilla, although the caveat always was that if offers came in that were well above their valuation of the player then they would consider them.

All summer long the youngster has been linked with clubs at home and abroad: Arsenal and Everton were reported to be interested, one story said clubs in Saudi Arabia were keen and Barcelona were rumoured to be willing pay upwards of £25m for Asprilla.

He was at the home games with MK Dons and Stoke, but it's no surprise they turned out to be farewell visits to Vicarage Road.