Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins is hitting new levels at Villa Park following the departure of Danny Ings, says journalist Dean Jones.
The 27-year-old has been in great goalscoring form of late, and Jones reckons Emery loves what he’s seeing from his player right now.
Aston Villa news — Ollie Watkins
As per Transfermarkt, Watkins has scored six goals in his last seven Premier League outings.
The Englishman is eager to maintain this form as Villa aim to finish the season in the top half of the table.
“It’s nice as a striker to score goals. That’s what you want to do at the end of the day,” Watkins told Villa’s official website after his side’s 1-1 draw with West Ham last Sunday.
“I’ve been working hard to do that; I always work hard. I’m looking forward to these last 12 games to keep scoring and help the team.”
What has Dean Jones said about Ollie Watkins and Unai Emery?
Jones says Watkins has really come to life and is delighting his manager right now with his exploits.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the journalist said: “He’s definitely hitting new levels at the moment. I think it might just be that he’s benefiting from Danny Ings not being around, to be honest.
“I think there is still going to be some concern about general consistency over the course of an entire season, but since the day Ings left the club, he’s come to life in a goalscoring sense and I’m sure Emery’s enjoying every minute of that.”
How important is Ollie Watkins to Unai Emery?
Very. Watkins is scoring all of Villa’s goals at this moment in time, while Emery no longer has Ings to call upon.
The former Brentford man, who’s earning £75,000 a week at Villa Park, according to Spotrac, is his only reliable option up front.
Villa do, of course, have Jhon Duran, who arrived from Chicago Fire in January. But he’s still just a teenager and is coming from a league that isn’t the strongest. Simply put, the Colombian needs time to adapt.
When you consider all of the above, Watkins looks indispensable to Villa. If anything happens to him, there’s probably little chance of the Midlands club finishing in the top 10 this season.
Even with him, it looks like a difficult task given the quality of the teams around them, which includes Chelsea. But if Watkins can maintain the level he’s currently playing at, maybe it’s possible.
