Dan Bardell: Keinan Davis has no pathway into Aston Villa first team under Unai Emery
Keinan Davis has struggled to find his goalscoring boots while on loan at Watford this season, with any chance of a return to the Aston Villa fold quickly slipping out of his grasp.
The 25-year-old has long been touted as a potential Villa number nine, possessing the strength and pace to trouble any defence on his given day, but his Achilles heel remains his inability to post big goalscoring numbers.
Despite showing his credentials in Steve Cooper’s promotion-winning Nottingham Forest side, scoring five goals and providing two assists from 15 games, he has struggled to replicate this form at Vicarage Road this term.
A total of five goals from 27 appearances simply isn’t going to catch the eye of Unai Emery when the Spaniard begins to consider his attacking options over the summer.
With Aston Villa’s marquee January signing Jhon Duran possessing some striking similarities to Davis in terms of style of play, the English forward finds his return to Villa Park littered with roadblocks.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Sky Sports and The Athletic’s Dan Bardell admitted there was “no pathway” back for the Watford loanee and that Duran’s transfer has all but sealed his fate.
He said: “There’s no pathway for him anymore, I think Duran coming in has blocked his only route back because I think they would be too similar in the way they play the game.
“He did well at Forest last year, and I was surprised Forest didn’t look to sign him permanently after his strong loan move, but he’s gone to a club that isn’t functioning, they’re onto their third manager of this season already, and that cant help.
“Chris Wilder is the type of manager who could get a tune out of Davis; you never know what the end of the season could hold, but there’s little hope of a return under Emery.
“I think there is a good player there, who is a top-end Championship striker, but I’m unsure if he has the ability to take it to the next level in the Premier League.”
Birmingham Live journalist Ashley Preece reported (27 January) that Watford would be obliged to sign Davis for a fee of £15million if they gained promotion from the Championship this season.
If this is the case, then the Villa hierarchy must be praised for a shrewd piece of transfer business.
With Ollie Watkins, Jhon Duran and Cameron Archer all above him in the pecking order and further attacking additions expected in the summer, Davis is now an expendable asset.
Ever since bursting onto the scene in the Championship under Steve Bruce in the 2017/18 season, Davis has been a popular figure within the Villa fanbase, but five years on, his time at the club looks to be drawing to a close.
In other Aston Villa news, Danny Mills was completely wrong about a ‘terrible’ Villa player after his recent transformation under Unai Emery.