OFFICIAL: Mario Suárez sold to Watford

Well, I guess we all saw this one coming. Misfit midfielder Mario Suárez has completed his medical and been sold to Watford in the English Premier League for a fee of about €5.5 million, plus various bonuses and add-ons that could drive the final price quite a bit higher. All in all, though, it's unlikely that Fiorentina will recoup the amount they gave up for him originally.

IT'S DONE! #watfordfc is delighted to confirm Mario Suarez has signed on a 4.5-year deal: https://t.co/pzYkwdPCxc pic.twitter.com/wcKgjVfLK3

— Watford FC (@WatfordFC) January 30, 2016

Touted as the face of a new-look Viola under Paulo Sousa, Suárez was supposed to be the pugnacious, ball-winning destroyer who would personify the Portuguese mister's presumptive high pressure, transition-based strategy. Instead, Sousa remained focused on ball retention, preferring promising youngster Matías Vecino's superior workrate and passing. Suárez, meanwhile, languished on the bench, looking completely lost in a passing midfield on those rare occasions he got onto the pitch, and only rarely displaying glimpses of his skill and athleticism.

His final stats for his half-season in purple are 8 starts and 5 substitute appearances for 13 games played. He scored one splendid, albeit meaningless, goal and was booked 3 times. He should take to the more rugged English game pretty easily, especially since Watford won't ask him to do a lot of passing; it's probably why they've been after him for the past several weeks. Farewell, Mario. At least we'll always have Frosinone.