Watford star Abdoulaye Doucoure has admitted delight at his transfer to Lorient last season collapsing at the last minute.

Doucoure was set for a loan move to Lorient at the start of last season but the transfer evidently did not come into fruition and now the key midfielder for Watford has gone on to express his delight at having the switch collapsed as it gave him the opportunity to revive his career at Vicarage Road.

"As soon as we started pre-season, I saw that I was not in the plans of Walter Mazzarri, so I immediately wanted to leave in order to get playing time," he told French newspaper 20 Minutes.

"Lorient made an offer in the last minutes, but in the end it didn't happen. The perspective was interesting, but I stayed at Watford, I played in the second half of the season, and this year I'm paying. I imposed myself and I am happy to be here."