Gary Lineker laughs at what he’s told after Watkins admission at Aston Villa
Ollie Watkins has endured a pretty miserable time at Aston Villa recently, as he has himself now admitted.
After the departure of Jhon Duran in the winter transfer window, the England star was expected to be the undisputed number one at Villa Park.
However, Unai Emery has preferred Marcus Rashford in the number nine role and Watkins publicly spoke out about his lack of playing after being handed just 20 minutes off the bench in the Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday (15 April).
Watkins right to be frustrated after Villa snub
Watkins has notched 15 goals and seven assists in 33 Premier League appearances this season, including two contributions in the 4-1 win over Newcastle on Saturday (19 April).
The Three Lions ace opened the scoring in the first minute and then assisted Ian Maatsen‘s strike that put Villa back into the lead in the 64th minute.
Former Villans striker Dion Dublin was ecstatic with his impact and claimed that he has every right to speak out about his frustrations when asked by co-host Gary Lineker.
Speaking on Match of the Day (19 April, 22:46pm), he said: “I’m delighted. Why wouldn’t you be? You’ve been a striker Gary, if you get left out, you are unhappy.
“Gary was never left out, obviously, but you can imagine his frustration. I don’t mind that, air it, be honest and tell people what you think.”
Lineker responded by agreeing with Dublin and laughing.
Emery needs to find space for Watkins
Rashford has been in inspired form recently since joining the B6 outfit but there is space in the starting line-up for both him and Watkins.
The 29-year-old proved his worth against the Magpies as Villa took a huge step towards qualifying for a second successive season in the Champions League.
| Stats | Rashford | Watkins |
| Matches | 16 | 48 |
| Goals | 3 | 16 |
| Assists | 6 | 13 |
| Minutes played | 864 | 3,137 |
With the former Brentford forward thriving again, surely there is no way that Emery can leave him out in the cold as his side chase another remarkable end to the campaign.
If he continues to do so, he might find that Watkins wants to leave in the summer as he will feel that he needs to be playing every week.
The situation with Duran in the first half of the season would have been very frustrating, but now he is in the same boat, he may think that the manager does not trust him and may seek greener pastures.
Therefore, Emery needs to ensure that he includes his star striker as he will not want to lose a player of his quality.