Jake Livermore explained that the opportunity to be reunited with his former West Brom boss Valérien Ismaël played a key role in his move to Watford, after he penned a one-year deal at Vicarage Road on Friday (July 21).
The seven-time capped England international agreed terms after training with the Hornets throughout pre-season, and he has already enjoyed getting back to grips with the former French youth defender’s methods as he continues to settle into his new surroundings.
Livermore and Ismaël were at the Hawthorns together during the 2021/22 campaign - towards the end of the former’s six-and-a-half year stay in the Black Country - but it wasn’t just one ex-colleague who encouraged him that Hertfordshire was the ideal place for the next stage of his career.
“I’m buzzing to be here,” the 33-year-old said. “The boss was a massive pull for me - we worked well together previously, and his endeavour and work ethic are second to none so I jumped at the chance to work alongside him again.
“He builds foundations, and he’s keen on putting a structure in place. There is great talent at the club, so I think the combination of everything together will be great and I hope we can enjoy lots of success.
“I also spoke to the likes of Ben Foster, Craig Dawson and Nathaniel Chalobah [about the move] - it’s a club that seems to have crossed paths with me a few times! None of them had a bad word to say about Watford and I have loved it so far.”
With the likes of Tom Cleverley and Craig Cathcart having departed the first-team picture this summer, Livermore - who skippered West Brom to promotion in 2019/20 - believes he arrives armed with valuable leadership qualities as well as footballing skills.
And with just over two weeks to go until the 2023/24 Sky Bet Championship season gets underway, the Enfield-born star is eyeing a positive end to pre-season to build momentum ahead of the opening day’s QPR clash (Saturday August 5, 3pm KO).
He added: “The manager knows what he wants in terms of a structure, and hopefully I can work alongside him and replicate that in the dressing room. With all the talent that’s here, I want to make an impact and it’ll be nice to be in the middle of everything and try to help gel it all together.
“Everything’s been good on the training pitch so far, and there have been some good games for the boys. I think the squad is close to getting to where the manager wants things to be, so everything’s looking good for the start of the season.”
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