Watford FC may have pulled a blinder with player agreement after Man City exploits: View | OneFootball

Tom Ince has impressed in the EFL Cup recently, showing he can still play an important role for Watford

Watford may have been knocked out of the EFL Cup at the hands of Manchester City on Tuesday night, but they certainly deserve credit for their performance at the Etihad Stadium.

We've seen plenty of sides suffer huge defeats at the hands of Pep Guardiola's side in recent seasons, and Watford supporters would have been pleasantly surprised by their narrow 2-1 defeat, and there are huge positives for Tom Cleverley to take as they return to Championship action.

One of these positives would have been Tom Ince's performance, with the 32-year-old scoring a stunning goal to give Watford hope of a late comeback with his stunning curling effort beating Stefan Ortega in the City goal with ease.

Ince has struggled for regular minutes in the Championship this season but has been impressive in the cup when Cleverley has rotated the team, and the decision to renew his contract in the summer might just pay off.

EFL Cup form shows that Tom Ince still has a lot to offer

Ince is into his second year as a Watford player, and despite not featuring all too regularly last season, the club had seen enough to extend his deal by two years in the summer.

This might have seemed a strange move given the fact that Ince is 32 and had started just eight league games last season, and eyebrows would no doubt have been raised by the decision given his lack of playing time in the Championship so far this season.

In total, Ince has made just two substitute appearances in the league, totaling just 14 minutes, and some of the Hornets' faithful may well have questioned why they renewed his contract.

However, Ince has been given opportunities to play in the Carabao Cup, starting all three of their fixtures, and he impressed, scoring four times in the three fixtures, and also registering an assist.

This shows that Ince is still a very good player, and his finish against City on Tuesday night was one that world-class players would have been proud of, and while he may not be a starter in the league this season, he still has plenty to offer from the bench.

While he may not have had too many chances in the league, Cleverley clearly likes Ince, hence giving him a new deal in the summer and probably feels that his experience will come in handy over the course of a 46-game season.

With nearly 400 Championship appearances under his belt, the club's decision to hand him a new contract will likely pay dividends as the season progresses and if his cup displays are anything to go by, Ince is still a more than capable performer.

Tom Ince will be a useful option when squad depth is tested

While Ince has barely featured in the league this season, it's important to remember that we're six games into a 46 game season, and he'll definitely get chances as the campaign progresses.

There haven't been any midweek Championship fixtures yet, but you can guarantee that when Watford are being asked to play three league games in a week, Cleverley will have to freshen up the starting XI, and that's when Ince will be used.

Injuries, suspension and fatigue mean that players won't always be available, and Ince will likely come into his own then, and you can see exactly why he was given a new deal, as someone with that experience and quality will be very useful as cover.

The 32-year-old would likely have known that he was signing up for a bit-part role when he put pen-to-paper on fresh terms, and he'll know that he has to take his chance in the league to ensure he sees more regular minutes.

Ince couldn't have done much more to impress Cleverley during their EFL Cup campaign, and you can definitely expect him to feature in the league when the busy Championship schedule really kicks in next month.

Watford's decision to renew Ince's contract may just prove an incredibly shrewd bit of business over the coming months, and you can expect him to play an important role both from the bench and from the start when the Hornets' squad depth is tested.