Clevs on Yaser: “I’d rather involve people who are part of a long-term project.”

Tom Cleverley left Yaser Asprilla out of his 20-man squad on Saturday, preferring to include players he knows will be at Watford in the long term.

The Colombian was at Vicarage Road for both Tuesday’s Carabao Cup win over MK Dons and Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Stoke.

The young midfielder was seen walking around the pitch before the game, smiling as he posed for selfies and shook hands with supporters.

Of course, despite persistent rumours of his impending departure, Asprilla remains on the Vicarage Road wage bill, and some fans may believe he should be earning his money on the pitch.

But Cleverley stated that it was his decision to leave the 20-year-old out of the squad.

“He’d only trained properly with the team for seven days because of the Copa America during the summer,” explained Watford’s head coach.

“Everyone is working towards and preparing for Yaser leaving the club, so I’d rather involve people who are part of the long-term project.

“I fully respect that his qualities could win us games in the short term but that’s my decision and I have to stand by that.”

Asprilla trained with his current teammates last week, but he has only played 18 minutes in a Copa America group game against Costa Rica on June 28 and 45 minutes in a friendly against Bolivia two weeks prior.

Cleverley told the media following the win over Stoke that he expects Asprilla to leave, and the youngster has been linked with a variety of clubs since the turn of the year, most recently Rennes, Girona, and Leicester City.

His situation is slightly clouded by a dispute between what appears to be an agent with whom he had a contract while in Colombia and another agent with whom he began working after moving to England.

However, that does not preclude him from agreeing to a move elsewhere, and it now appears to be a matter of which club and when it will happen within the next 12 days.

GET MORE RELATED CONTENT HERE