Aston Villa: Ollie Watkins among Europe elite as Thierry Henry lauds ‘Drogba-like’ ace on MNF
Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins has emerged as one of the best strikers in Europe, let alone the Premier League, as the 28-year-old notched two more goals against Luton Town on Saturday (2 March).
With a brace at Kenilworth Road, Unai Emery’s main man netted his fourth and fifth goals in the last three matches, boosting him to 16 Premier League goals so far this season.
In addition to this, Watkins also has 10 assists to his name, seeing him go joint-top with Kieran Trippier and Pascal Gross in the race for the Premier League Playmaker award.
Thierry Henry raves about Ollie Watkins v Luton Town
The forward’s performances are certainly not going under the radar, with many tipping Watkins to be in the starting lineup for England at Euro 2024, possibly alongside Harry Kane.
Being compared to one of the competition’s biggest legends is not a comment that comes around very often, but Thierry Henry did not mince his words about the striker.
Speaking live on Sky Sports Monday Night Football (4 March, 6:55pm), the Arsenal legend detailed Watkins’ first goal against Luton: “It is a very Drogba-like goal. If you allow a guy that can head the ball into the box, he will punish you.”
Against the Hatters, the in-form striker took five shots, with an 80 per cent shot accuracy, working Thomas Kaminski throughout the match. And more impressively, he outscored his 0.64xG dramatically. [FotMob]
And his impact does not stop there. He currently boasts a top 69 percentile of defensive clearances, being vital in Villa conceding the fourth-least number of goals in the division this season. [FBref]
How does the Aston Villa ace compare to other strikers in Europe?
David Jones would later reveal a statistic, showing that Kane is the only elite striker in the top five leagues to boast more goal involvements than Watkins this season, ranking above Lautaro Martinez, Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland.
Compared to other world-class strikers, the 28-year-old ranks amongst the top 86 percentile of non-penalty goals as well as the top 94 percentile for assists. [FBref]
He has been one of, if not the most, important players for Emery this season, with Villa continuing to press for a top-four finish.
With 16 goals in the league, it comes as no surprise to see him rank within the top 82 percentile for touches inside the opposition penalty area, which makes defending against him so much harder. [FBref]
The service from Leon Bailey, Douglas Luiz and John McGinn makes the striker’s job that much easier, but that should never take away from the incredible job Watkins is doing this season.
In other Aston Villa news, Don Goodman believes the club may already be at an advanced stage in terms of their first summer signing.
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