I treat Niang as if he were my son – Mazzarri

Watford coach Walter Mazzarri has vowed to treat new signing M’Baye Niang like his “son” after his previous struggles at AC Milan.

Niang joined Milan in 2012 after flourishing as a teenager at French side Caen and initially impressed in Italy, his dribbling abilities and pace marking him out as a talented prospect.

But inconsistency and off-field matters hampered his progress at the club, while loan moves to Montpellier and Genoa were not resounding successes.

Mazzarri is determined to give Niang – who scored in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Burnley – every chance of living up to his potential at Watford, though, with the club having the option to make his temporary switch permanent at the end of the season.

“I treat him as if he were my son,” Mazzarri told reporters. “Speaking with him every day, of course. I ask him for suggestions and I think he listens to me as well.

“A player with his qualities, if he has made mistakes in the past the important thing is that he doesn’t do it anymore and he keeps following my suggestions.

“Niang did very well against Arsenal, also because he is a player that did not play a lot with Milan this season. But he still needs to get the perfect condition I want.”