Australian teenager adjusts to English Championship with Watford in World Cup year

“I can change techniques. I can flick a shot into the top corner, I can take a free kick from 40 yards. It’s something I enjoy doing… and I feel like I showed it.”

However, he has failed to score for his club since and has lost his place as a regular starter.

When Irankunda spoke to this imprint just before Christmas – four months away from two free-kick goals – he was happy to admit he was a coward.

“I want to do more,” Iranunda said. “I want to do more.

“I’m going through a difficult time right now, but I feel like I can recover and perform at my best again.”

Paulo Pezzolano, the coach who signed him, was fired in October after just three wins in his first 10 games, and the No. 1 weakness he said he was trying to address, inconsistency, has returned to Irankunda’s game. In one match, Pezzolano pinned Irankunda after just 35 minutes, making him the scapegoat for the team’s poor performance.

“Once I have the consistency to put in great performances or just be in the game every week… I’ll be able to get to that level.”

Nestory in Iran

At that stage of the season, Watford fans were more likely to give him negative feedback rather than shower him with praise.

“Usually after games,” he said of his interactions with fans. “That’s when some fans say things, ask questions. Sometimes you want to answer, sometimes you don’t, sometimes you choose not to answer just for the sake of answering.”

Under the management of Javi Gracia, who previously coached Watford in 2018-19, replacing Pezzolano, Irankunda became an effective player off the bench. However, he made two great assists in his last two matches and reminded us how high his ceiling is.

In the first leg against Norwich City, he collected the ball on the left wing, used his great pace and fired home with ease, then passed the ball to Vivaldo Semedo who made it 1-0 in the 90th minute.

Three days later against Birmingham City, Irananda came on at half-time and outdid himself with a truly world-class move. This time he started deep in Watford’s defense, attacking three players chasing him in vain as he charged through the middle, and then scored an assist from just outside the penalty area. It was the third goal in the 3-0 win and fourth win from above, part of a seven-game unbeaten run that has propelled them into the play-off positions.

“Nestory is a different player; he can do different things,” Gracia said.

Their next game is against Bristol City in the FA Cup on Sunday morning (AEDT).

To the credit of those around him and those around him, the rapidly maturing former Adelaide United star has emerged from such a difficult period as a tougher competitor and is ready to challenge for the starting spot again.

Not only has he had to adapt to the brutal schedule of the English Championship and the rhythm of two to three games every week, but he also plays in a different position: somewhere between an inverted winger and a shadow striker. This is not dissimilar to the role Tony Popovic wants him to play at the Socceroos and he feels it is very useful in a World Cup year.

“I’m not really a winger anymore,” Irankunda said.

“Just continuing to do what I do, the confidence and composure of playing in tight spaces and in difficult moments of games to stay focused, I feel like that’s what I’ve improved on, as well as tracking back and helping the defence.

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“Once I get that consistency to be able to put in great performances or just be in the game every week, it’s like… [I’ve got] There’s some hard work left to be done. “I’m pretty confident I can reach this level.”

If he can, Iranunda will not be able to stay in England’s second tier for long. Despite selling him to Watford, Bayern Munich still retain a clause that would give them 50 per cent of his next transfer fee, as well as a buy-back option meaning he could return to Germany. The standouts have undoubtedly attracted the attention of Premier League clubs, but Iranunda’s preference is to get there with his current employers.

“A few more goals and promotion; I’d love to do it,” he said.