Gianluca Nani has confirmed he told Watford’s newest star that “one day we will get together” just months before this became a reality.
The 63-year-old, who serves as group technical director at both Udinese and the Hornets, has signed some of European football’s greatest talents throughout his career, from Roberto Baggio to Pep Guardiola.
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His latest coup was convincing Edoardo Bove to join Championship Watford after leaving Roma.
The Italy U21 international had not played a minute since his cardiac arrest on the pitch in December 2024.
While on loan at Fiorentina, Bove collapsed during a Serie A game against Inter Milan and was later given a cardiac defibrillator.
As a result, the 23-year-old midfielder was unable to continue his career in his home country and was released from his contract with Roma.
Nani, who knew his compatriot well through his work at Udinese, had a chance meeting with Bove last May when he was Fiorentina’s guest of honor on their trip to Udine.
Nine months later, Nani joined The Pitch Prospect.com, the morning after Viola returned to Bluenergy Stadium, where the conversation conveniently turned to Bove.
“I met him by chance in Udine,” revealed the sports and technical director. “He came here to watch the last game of last season.
“It was Udinese-Fiorentina. He followed Fiorentina. And then he was without a car. I took him with me.”
“During the lift I started talking. I said, ‘One day we’ll walk together.’ But I couldn’t wait for it to happen so quickly and so directly.
“But that’s not me. It’s always the club and all the employees who work in the club who do this kind of work.”
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Wrexham’s horror Watford record
Bove has already played five games for Edward Still’s side, four of which came in Watford’s last four games.
He is expected to be part of the squad and will be hoping to bounce back from Wrexham this week following Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to Stoke City.
Wrexham have won just one of their last 10 Football League trips to Watford (D2 L7); a 2-1 win 51 years ago, in March 1975.
Bove was considered a “proven top talent” when he signed a five-and-a-half year contract at Vicarage Road at the end of January.
And Nani proved just how excited Watford fans can be when he personally name-checked him while also assessing the names of the stars he has been involved in signing or developing throughout his illustrious career.
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Bove “one of many special players”
Nani added to The Pitch Prospect: “I’m proud of all my players. I’m not the one I love more than the other.”
“When you talk about special players, of course you talk about Baggio and Guardiola. But there are many, many, many of them.”
“The same applies when I talk about Udinese and Watford. It’s a group. It’s like that.” [saying] You have two sons. Which one do you like more?
“That’s why Baggio and Guardiola are the most famous, they are incredible. But a lot of them, Marek Hamšík.” [at Brescia] was 15 years old. A special player, lots and lots of them.
“Now we’re signing too [for] Watford, Edoardo Bove, that comes from a special situation. Here in Udine we have [Nicolo] Zaniolo.
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“This is a player with skills. He could play at a super top club.”
But also a young player like the last two. How [Juan David] Arizala, [Branimir] Mlačić, that would be top talent.
“At Watford we have [Nestory] Irankunda, [Othmane] Mama. So many, many, many players. It’s hard for me to say.
“I’m proud of my staff and my people. Firstly, because all in all, this is a job that has to be done. There will never be one person who can do this job.”
“But it’s always a team of people. Always say that a good team of people with the same mentality, the same winning mentality is much more than any great individual.”
“That’s why we work like that in Udine. That’s how we work at the other club, in the Watford group.”
“We’re all trying to go in the same direction together and follow the same philosophy. A philosophy that Mr. Pozzo developed 40 years ago. And that’s the way we continue to do it, and we hope we will.”