Scott Duxbury’s assertion when discussing Watford’s €13 million signing of Gerard Deulofeu could not have been more on the money.

Ambition and a hunger to grow were at the heart of the chief executive’s message – an opinion it is hard to argue with when considering the Hornets have signed a player who graduated from Barca’s famed La Masia academy to share a dressing room with Lionel Messi and win two La Liga titles.

It’s a signing in keeping with those which came last summer as the Hornets struck deals for Will Hughes, Nathaniel Chalobah and Richarlison. All three players arrived at Vicarage Road for relatively cheap, with plenty of potential for growth and personal points to prove. Deulofeu is no different.

Even with the addition of a potential €4m in add-ons, Watford can be hugely satisfied with this early piece of business. In short, far less talented players will go for far much more money during a transfer window which will once again see spending reach dizzying heights.

At 24, the winger is far from the finished article and still needs to hone his raw and abundant talents, but is the sort of player Watford can build an attack around. He showed just that in his short-term loan last season as he made an impression in spite of injury concerns.

His display in the 4-1 defeat of Chelsea, where he was the driving force for much of Watford’s best moments and scored his sole goal for the club, provided evidence aplenty of this. Indeed, had a stress fracture to the foot not sidelined Deulofeu for the more than a month, he would have been central to Javi Gracia’s plans.

The Spanish head coach will now get the luxury of working closely with a player he has been quick to praise in public.

Limited opportunities in Catalonia made a move away from Barca inevitable this summer and Watford, despite interest from elsewhere in England as well as Spain, always looked like being his preferred destination.

That in itself speaks volumes of Deulofeu’s early impression of the WD18 club and the chance to be a central cog in a club looking to grow could see him flourish.

Watford’s squad may be far from complete and the signing of Deulofeu and talented centre-back Ben Wilmot earlier in the window are surely just a start to the summer activity.

The Hornets still need to find defensive cover at left-back and goalkeeper remains a concern as Heurelho Gomes heads into the final year of his contract. However, Watford could do a lot worse than follow the ambitious approach which landed Deulofeu when targeting the remainder of their summer signings.