Javi Gracia believes Will Hughes should be playing for England.
Watford midfielder Hughes starred again as the Hornets thrashed sorry Huddersfield 3-0 at Vicarage Road on Saturday.
The 23-year-old has carried his fine form from last term into the start of this, with the Watford fans greeting Saturday’s final whistle by chanting “Hughesy for England”.
Watford boss Gracia admitted he agrees with his fans on that point, and pledged to do whatever he can to help the uncapped ex-Derby midfielder win full international honours.
“I agree with the supporters; if you ask my opinion, I think Will should be playing for the national team too,” said Gracia.
“But I don’t pick that team and I respect fully the decisions of the national team manager.
“But whenever they are ready to pick him, he will be ready to play – and we’ll do everything we can to help him be ready for that as well.”
Roberto Pereyra, Gerard Deulofeu and Isaac Success all found the net on Saturday, as Watford secured their best-ever start to a top-flight campaign.
And Gracia paid tribute to striker Success for his hard work in the summer that has allowed him to hit the ground running this term.
“Isaac was already working very hard before the start of pre-season, before coming back to us.
“So when we started to train he was fit and ready to play, and he has been waiting for his moment, his chance to play.
And now he’s showing his level. I don’t think there’s a secret or something special; it’s only hard work.”
Adrian Mariappa captained Watford on Saturday, producing an assured display that drew plaudits from his boss.
“It’s a pleasure to have players like Mariappa,” said Gracia. “He’s always ready, he always has a smile on his face.
“If you ask him to play centre-back, left-back, right-back, or midfield, he does it and does it well.
“He’s one of our captains and knows what’s required.”
Huddersfield slipped to the foot of the table, extending their winless run this term to 10 league matches.
But boss David Wagner remains convinced his squad has the quality to step out of trouble.
“If you perform on a high level consistently you will get points and wins, but today we didn’t perform on that level at all,” said Wagner.
“On one side I think we have to give credit to Watford, they are a quality side with quality individuals and full of confidence at the moment.
“But individually we were not on our standard in too many positions.”
