John McGinn admits Aston Villa were 'lucky to keep' teammate this summer amid transfer rumours
Aston Villa's key players were linked with moves away at various points in the summer.
Emi Martinez's proposed move to Manchester United may have been the most high-profile saga, as the Argentinian shot-stopper looked certain to be leaving Villa Park.
Martinez did not play against Crystal Palace as Villa were beaten 3-0 over the weekend, and Unai Emery appeared to be less than impressed with the goalkeeper's antics.
Despite this, it was another vital member of Villa's squad that John McGinn claimed the club were fortunate to retain their services.
John McGinn reveals Aston Villa were "lucky to keep hold of" Ollie Watkins this summer
Alongside Watkins and Martinez, Morgan Rogers was linked with a move away this summer as it appeared that the side Emery had worked hard to build was set to be torn apart.
Thankfully, this wasn't the case, and despite rumours of Watkins joining Newcastle, he also stayed.
Speaking in an interview on the Sky Sports Premier League YouTube channel on 3 September, McGinn was full of praise for the striker, who is now Villa's top Premier League goalscorer.
"He's a machine," McGinn said.
"Beating Gabby's (Agbonlahor) record last year, he's scored five in five for pre-season, so he's in good form. He's going to go again; been lucky to keep a hold of him.
"Just a great teammate, really hard worker and one of the best strikers in the league," McGinn said.
Watkins, along with Villa's other attacking players, have all started the season slowly as Emery's side are the only team in the Premier League to not have scored a goal so far.
However, with 15 or more Premier League goals to his name in the last three seasons, you would back Watkins and Villa to turn things around.
Ollie Watkins has drawn comparisons to Dwight Yorke
Watkins has improved tremendously as a player since he first arrived in B6 back in 2020, and his form since then has earned him comparisons with Yorke.
Speaking to Match.Center back in 2023, Yorke had this to say about Watkins: "When it comes to comparing (Watkins) with other players, he’s probably close to me in terms of his style of play now!
- Yorke netted 80 times in his 255 Villa appearances
- The comparisons will be even stronger today, with Watkins enjoying his best Premier League goalscoring season in 2023/24 with 19
- The forward has also gone on to star on the international stage with England
"I was probably a bit quicker and could dribble better, but he’s got good traits going for him. It’s easy to forget that three years ago, he wasn’t even in the Premier League, so he’s getting used to it a lot more now," Yorke added.
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