Nabizada On Debut: "I'm Hugely Grateful"

Amin Nabizada paid tribute to Watford Head Coach Tom Cleverley after making his professional debut for the Hornets in last night’s FA Cup defeat against Fulham.

The 17-year-old forward was introduced in the 88th minute at Craven Cottage to gain his first taste of senior football against Premier League opposition. 

It comes after a goal-laden season so far for the Under-21s and Under-18s, and a pair of appearances as an unused sub for the first team last term.

Nabizada has often trained with the senior squad and scored in the victory over Hibernian in a pre-season friendly in August.

“He nodded at me and I double questioned it,” Nabizada said about getting the call from Cleverley to come on.

“I said ‘me?’, and he said ‘yeah’. He said if I got the ball to express myself, and to just run after the ball because we were chasing the game.

“The pace was quite good.

“Obviously, I’m coming up against a Premier League team and I can see their quality.”

Nabizada knows all about Cleverley from his time as the Under-18s Lead Coach.

He added: “I’m hugely grateful to him. He came in as the Under-18s coach and I came in as a scholar, debating whether I could settle into the full-time programme. 

“Clevs was right there with me every step of the way, guiding me, helping me. 

“He was always on to me when I was not at my best level. He knows how to get the best out of players and I think he did that for me.”

The Hornets exited the FA Cup after a 4-1 defeat so Nabizada admitted making his debut was a “bittersweet” feeling.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this,” he said. “I’ve been training with the first team a lot.

“I’m just really happy to make my debut and grateful for all the academy staff who have put in work behind the scenes.”