Back in the early stages of the summer transfer window of 2016, Watford secured a permanent deal for Liverpool youngster Jerome Sinclair.
The 22-year-old had come up through the ranks at Anfield but then struggled to force his way into first team reckoning, with just five senior appearances to show for his time at the Premier League giants.
And while he also struggled on a loan spell at Wigan Athletic during the 2014/15 season, Watford made the move to sign the young forward at the expiration of his contract at Liverpool, albeit had to pay a £4 million developmental fee given he was under the age of 24.
And his exit stimulated quite a response from Liverpool supporters on Twitter at the time, with plenty unfazed by his departure to Vicarage Road…
good riddance. Say hi to Aidy for us.
— Sam. (@SamAIex) June 30, 2016
clearly got no ambition, downward step
— Graham Ball (@OfficiallyGB) June 30, 2016
his careers downhill from here
— Lewis Lackey (@lewis_lackey) June 30, 2016
Good riddance
— Hannah Willis (@hannahw_lfc) June 30, 2016
relief all round. Not the kinda attitude we want at our club..
— Paul (@_lfcpaul) June 30, 2016
@JackSear £4m for a player never to be seen again. Enjoy your descent through the leagues!
— Michael Young (@YoungMickylover) June 30, 2016
new snake
— Osaid ⌬ (@Gerraxd) June 30, 2016
And given Sinclair’s struggles at the Hertfordshire-based outfit following his arrival back in 2016, it’s fair to say that the 22-year-old’s big decision to leave Anfield little over two years ago has backfired quite spectacularly.
Ultimately, there was much expectation on Sinclair’s shoulders from a young age given how well he had done at youth level for Liverpool when coming up through the ranks, while the fact that he netted in just his fourth appearance for the club in their FA Cup clash with Exeter in January 2016 only heightened that sense of anticipation.
However, the former England youth international couldn’t convince Brendan Rodgers and then Jurgen Klopp of his first team capabilities, eventually finishing his time at Liverpool with only five senior appearances to his name, just two of which came in the Premier League.
And a move to Watford appeared to represent the fresh start his career was seemingly in need of, yet that hasn’t exactly happened so far given Sinclair has spent just as much time out on loan as he has actually at Vicarage Road.
The 2016/17 season saw the 22-year-old play a bit-part role under Walter Mazzarri with just five Premier League appearances to his name in the first half of the season, in which time he failed to make a direct contribution, thus prompting the Hornets boss to ship him out on loan to Birmingham City for the second half of the campaign.
But that didn’t go to plan either with Sinclair mustering only five Championship appearances for the Blues in their battle against relegation, thus leaving his future far from certain upon return to Vicarage Road.
And while he did stick around at Watford for the whole of the 2017/18 season, he only managed four Premier League appearances to further underline just how far down the pecking order he was under a combination of Marco Silva and Javi Gracia.
And with Sinclair now playing his football at League One side Sunderland, where he is beginning to command regular football under Jack Ross after a testing start to the campaign, it’s pretty clear that the 22-year-old’s career hasn’t taken off as he may have hoped it would upon leaving Liverpool.
And with the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez having bide their time and now reaping the rewards with regular first team football, one must wonder whether the same could’ve happened for Sinclair were he to have remained at Anfield in 2016.
Nonetheless, plenty of Liverpool fans were unfazed by his departure little over two years ago, with it looking more and more like a shocking call from the young forward.
Liverpool and Watford fans… what do you think? Let us know!
