Watford's Jebbison loan ends early as he heads back to Bournemouth
The proposed season-long loan of Daniel Jebbison at Watford has ended, with the striker recalled back to his parent club Bournemouth.
The Premier League side have injuries to both Evanilson and Enes Unal, meaning their options in attack have been dramatically reduced almost overnight.
They confirmed that Jebbison had returned to the Vitality Stadium in a statement on their website a few minutes ago.
The 21-year-old has had a pretty torrid time at Watford though, and the final straw may well have come at the weekend when, after the 2-1 defeat to Sheffield United, Jebbison ‘liked’ the Blades’ official Instagram post which displayed the final score, and then made a comment on a post by winning goalscorer Andre Brooks.
The social media activity was described as “a bit of stupidity” by Tom Cleverley, who said at lunchtime the Hornets and Bournemouth are now discussing bringing the loan to a premature end.
“It is a loan that hasn’t worked and we have to accept that,” said Cleverley.
“I spoke to Daniel this week and what has happened here shouldn’t define who he is as a player, and he shouldn’t be judged on the last six months.
“He hasn’t become a worse player overnight because this move hasn’t worked.”
Referring to the social media posts Jebbison made, the Watford head coach said: “He should learn from that.
“No matter how bad you feel like your situation is as a player, you can always make it worse by acting with not great discipline.
“We had that chat, and I feel that as a young player you will always make mistakes and what sometimes people outside a football club don’t see is how competitive it is within.
“We have 23 other clubs to compete with in the league, but as a player you might have two or three other players you’re competing with from within.
“You sometimes find yourself not wanting the best for that group when you’re outside the starting XI, but I learned pretty quickly in my early 20s that is not a mindset you want to be in.
“You want to be surrounded by a positive environment and everybody pushing each other to new heights.
“So I had that chat with Jebbo. He’s made a mistake and I think he understands that.
“No matter how low you feel like your situation is, you can always make it lower with a bit of stupidity.”
Jebbison misses the great chance against Cardiff. (Image: Supplied) Cleverley himself rarely uses social media, but he knows of its perils for footballers.
“I’m not that active on social media myself, but I know when you’re scrolling through sometimes it can be a habit to just hit a like or something,” he said.
“You can accept a like, but for me going and commenting on the winning goalscorer’s post is something he should learn from.”
The 21-year-old striker moved to Vicarage Road at the end of the August transfer window, having made Premier League substitute appearances for the Cherries.
He played little more than seven hours of football for the Hornets, and didn’t score or assist in any goals.
His last action came in the 2-1 home defeat against Cardiff on December 29, when he came on as substitute in the 58th minute and proceeded to miss a glorious chance to equalise in front of the Rookery End.
He was an unused substitute at QPR on New Year’s Day, and wasn’t even on the bench for the game with the Sheffield United on Saturday.
Having made those two outings for Bournemouth in the Premier League before moving to Watford, Jebbison has played for two clubs this season which would preclude him from playing for anybody else.
Therefore, his only options were to stay with Watford or return to the South Coast, and the latter has now happened.
