Aston Villa: Unai Emery eyes ‘well-known striker’ transfer after new Ollie Watkins development
Aston Villa will look to sign a “well-known striker” to support Ollie Watkins this summer, if they qualify for the Champions League, according to Alan Hutton.
Villa currently sit fourth in the Premier League and are eyeing a place in the Champions League next season having impressed under Unai Emery, while also reaching the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League.
A large part of the Villans’ excellent campaign has been the remarkable form of Watkins who has managed to score 16 goals and lay on 10 assists for his teammates in 30 Premier League matches this term.
Emery had to make do without the Englishman as Villa were well beaten by Manchester City last time out and while Jhon Duran managed to deputise well, Hutton believes Villa will be in the market for a new centre-forward.
“Of course, it’s a blow,” told Villa News.
“It’s probably the one thing they don’t have is a real option who can come in and take his place up front if he is injured. You’ve got people who can come in and lighten the load here and there but he’s your number one go-to guy.
“It’s something that they’ll definitely look at in the off-season. If they do make the top four, I’d imagine they’ll bring somebody in, a well-known striker.
“Not to take Ollie Watkins’ place, it’s to either play with him and back him up or when he needs a rest he comes in. I think they definitely need that option.”
Will Aston Villa sign a new striker to help Ollie Watkins in the summer transfer window?
While Watkins has been in exceptional form so far this season, Villa cannot rely on the 28-year-old to play week in and week out in multiple competitions, especially now that he has become a regular fixture in the England side.
The striker may have been fit for the majority of the season, but that level of game time is not sustainable in the long term and injuries will catch up with Watkins in the long term if he continues to play 50-plus games a year.
A new, experienced, number nine would be able to shoulder that burden, especially in the Champions League as the standard of football is generally much higher than that of the Conference League.
Villa need to move fast to get somebody in this summer, especially as speculation continues around Watkins’ potential suitors this summer. If the 28-year-old were to leave Villa Park, Emery would not have a consistent striking option at his disposal.
In other Aston Villa news, Emery is expected to listen to approaches from Bayern Munich this summer after Xabi Alonso’s surprise announcement
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