Aston Villa warned they face ‘impossible’ Ollie Watkins transfer task
Aston Villa face an “impossible” task trying to find a player of similar quality to Ollie Watkins in order to strengthen their squad, according to Don Goodman.
Watkins has stood out for the Villans once again this season with 19 goals – the joint-most by a Villa player in a single Premier League season – and 12 assists in the top flight alone.
Unai Emery will no doubt be looking to bring in a player or two of similar stature should Champions League qualification be obtained, but Goodman says there is nobody out there who can match Watkins.
“That’s impossible really because of what Watkins brings to the table,” he told Villa News. “A player having pace and power is a really difficult thing for an opponent.
“The only way you can stop it is if you have a central defender who is as quick as that striker. Let’s face it, his game intelligence over the past two or three seasons has gone up levels.
“His movement is exceptional, he has incredible pace, he’s strong in the air, got a decent touch, can hold it up and is able to drift out wide. And for clarity, these assists are proper assists – he’s not passing the ball three yards to a team-mate to smash into the top corner.
“His assists are from proper build-up play, playing a team-mate through on goal, squaring a ball for a tap-in – proper assists. His finishing has also been outstanding, particularly this season. He’s gone to another level and is full of confidence.”
Aston Villa ace Ollie Watkins keeping pace with Harry Kane
Only Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane has more direct goal involvements than Watkins across Europe’s top five leagues, which says it all about the form the Villa gem has been in.
Kane is arguably the only player in the world right now that would be an upgrade on Watkins, but even then they are not like-for-like players, so Emery would likely say ‘thanks, but no thanks’.
The Villans have a number of other talented attackers, but bringing in someone to potentially partner and also fill in for Watkins during what will likely be a gruelling 2024-25 is imperative.
Any sort of long or mid-term injury lay-off for Watkins does not bear thinking about. If the Villa transfer department can earmark a player who has the potential to become a Watkins 2.0, Villa really will be laughing.
In other Aston Villa news, a Nicolo Zaniolo transfer verdict has been shared amid some “massive” news.
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