Ollie Watkins to ‘move on’ from Aston Villa after being hurt by Unai Emery
Ollie Watkins has made the headlines for Aston Villa of late for what he has done both on and off the pitch.
The forward returned to Unai Emery’s starting line-up in the Premier League clash against Newcastle United, showing exactly what he can do when he opened the scoring after just one minute.
However, in his interview after the 4-1 victory, Watkins admitted that he had been angry at his omission from Emery’s squad in the Champions League, a feeling he has not hidden from the boss.
In the following game, a 2-1 loss at Manchester City, Watkins was dropped to the bench again with Marcus Rashford the preferred option, scoring Villa’s only goal of the game.
Watkins Aston Villa future in doubt
Emery has done an excellent job with Aston Villa this season and his winter transfer window additions have allowed his side to manage the increased number of games they have faced.
Rashford has potentially saved his career with a move to Villa Park and his contributions have deservedly earned him praise.
However, you can understand why Watkins was disappointed not to be part of Champions League action, especially given the work he had put in to get his side to that level.
Although Watkins has been open about his feelings, he put any doubts over his talents to sleep with his performance against Newcastle.
That being said, the boss’ subsequent dropping of him again has left doubts over what the future may hold.
Speaking live on talkSPORT (25 April, 8:13am), Alan Pardew admitted that he could see this being the end of the road for Watkins in the West Midlands as he said: “That interview he gave where he said he was fuming not playing the European games.
“I think, I’ve been in that position myself, and I think when a player gets left out of a giant game like those European ties, the two that he got left out, I don’t know if there’s any coming back from that. That will really hurt him.
“As brilliant as he’s done for Villa, I’m not sure that relationship will ever be the same, so maybe, maybe he will move on. We’ll have to see.”
Aston Villa cannot afford to lose Watkins
Whether or not a deal can be struck to secure the services of Rashford on a long-term contract is yet to be seen, although there are expectations that this could be a stretch for Villa’s budget.
Even if Rashford did make the permanent move to Villa Park, though, if Emery wants his side to continue competing at the top of their game in both domestic and European football, then he is going to need more than one attacking option.
Watkins has been a reliable option in Claret and Blue for some time now and that has to be worth something to the boss, especially when he consistently performs at the top end of the pitch.
| Player | Appearanaces | Goals | Assists |
| Watkins | 34 | 15 | 7 |
| Rashford | 10 | 2 | 3 |
Meanwhile, Rashford has shown that he could be liable to a drop in standards once there is nothing to prove, which does make him more of a risk ahead of the summer transfer window.
It is a hard task keeping two top-quality players happy, especially if they are unlikely to be played together in the squad, but risking a relationship with Watkins and letting him leave the West Midlands could be a monumental disaster for Aston Villa.