Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins has been brilliant recently and is thriving in the role of being the ‘main man’ at the club, journalist Dean Jones has told GIVEMESPORT.
Watkins is now Villa’s primary striker choice and has been in rampant form since Danny Ings left for West Ham, with plenty of goals to show for it.
Aston Villa news – Ollie Watkins
Villa boss Unai Emery wants the £75k per week earner to stay at Villa Park.
He told The Athletic: “With Watkins, we are happy now. He’s progressing. We want to keep him. But, as well, if we can add another striker to play with him or to play in different competitions, it’s the idea.”
The 27-year-old striker has two years left on his current deal but is now in talks with Villa over a contract extension, according to the Daily Mail, as his goals have propelled his side into European football contention.
Watkins has seven appearances and two goals for England, as per Transfermarkt, but the 7-cap man will be hoping to catch the eye of Gareth Southgate with his goal tally this term.
What has Dean Jones said about Ollie Watkins?
Jones spoke about the boost that Watkins has been given due to Danny Ings’ departure from Aston Villa, referencing Watkins’ great self-belief and how he has begun to thrive now the striker role is predominantly his.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said:“Yeah, he’s basically been brilliant since the day that Danny Ings left the club. It was like that was what he needed to get him going. He wanted the main responsibility to become the main man in this team.
“I think before that moment maybe there was some uncertainty, and you are competing with someone that has great calibre and especially a good standing in the Premier League.
“But you feel that you’re better and then once they’re moved out of the way and you’ve made the role your own, you can thrive.”
How well has Ollie Watkins performed this season?
Watkins’ form in front of goal ranks him in joint-fifth place among the Premier League’s top goalscorers, according to Sofascore.
His blistering form of late means he has racked up double figures for three seasons running now, with only Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane able to match that since 2020, according to OptaJoe.
With seven games left to go, he only needs one more goal to break his highest Premier League goal-scoring tally, which is 14, according to the official Premier League website.
Aston Villa are now in contention for the European football places and will place high reliance on Watkins’ goalscoring exploits to secure this as they enter the closing stages of this campaign.
