Josh King speaks out after Watford star scores hat-trick v former club Everton
By Josh Heycock
Josh King made a statement on his return to Goodison Park on Saturday as his hattrick helped Watford to a 5-2 thrashing of Everton.
King spent the second half of last season on the blue side of Merseyside but left for newly promoted Watford after his contract wasn’t renewed.
The striker played a crucial role in newly-appointed Claudio Ranieri’s first win at the Hornets’ helm and looked to be twice the player we saw for Everton last season, where he feels he didn’t get the opportunity to showcase his talents.
“I didn’t get the chance (at Everton), but I woke up today and had a feeling,” King told Sky Sports after the game, as quoted by Times Live.
“That’s football, I feel every time someone doubts you, you want to prove a point.
“I felt I had a point to prove. I know it’s not personal, but I woke up and said to myself, ‘I have to be on my A-game today’, I didn’t expect a hattrick, but I’ll take it.”
The result sees Everton fall to eighth in the league and is their third loss In the last six games under Rafa Benitez, with the King hattrick only rubbing salt into their wounds.
The kick start King needs?
King burst onto the scene with Manchester United, but made a real impact with Bournemouth in their 16/17 season, scoring 16 goals in all competitions.
However, injuries and lack of playing time meant he never continued his goal-scoring antics and has struggled to consistently find the net ever since.
His move to a new-look Everton side last season looked to be the change he needed to find his shooting boots, however no goals in 11 appearances tells the tale of a striker out of form.
He has all the ingredients to be a good forward, he is fast and makes intelligent runs in behind and on Saturday showed he can play with his back to goal and hold the ball up well.
Maybe with the confidence of Ranieri and some consistent pitch time we can see the King he looked destined to be when he left Bournemouth.
In other Everton news, Jamie Carragher blasted a “ridiculous” situation surrounding this Goodison star.
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