(Credit: Breaking Media/Imago)

Jacob Raw

Fri 17 April 2026 18:40, UK

Aston Villa‘s Ollie Watkins has joined Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland in his own goal-scoring club after his strike against Bologna this Thursday.

The striker was on the scoresheet for the fourth time in as many games when he put the Villans 4-1 up on aggregate early on in the second half of the tie.

He grabbed a brace in the first leg, and seems to have found his form under Unai Emery at the perfect time.

The 30-year-old has had a streaky season, and it looked like it was heading to be his worst in a Villa shirt.

However, Watkins has now hit 100 goals for Aston Villa, which is the third-highest scoring tally out of any Premier League player since he joined the club.

Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah in the Ollie Watkins club

Watkins received heavy criticism earlier on in the season, some of which was harsh due to the fact he was rarely getting chances to begin with.

Then, when the opportunities fell at his feet, there was added pressure on the Englishman to score, but Emery has been able to get the Villans creating more chances recently.

It’s fair to say that Watkins silenced his doubters over the two legs against Bologna, and if he were able to lead Villa to a Europa League title, he could go down as a modern-day hero of the club.

As per OptaJoe on X, Watkins has now become the third Premier League player to score 100 goals in all competitions for a club, since he made his own Aston Villa debut.

Ahead of him is Manchester City’s Haaland with 157, and Liverpool’s Salah with 159.

Watkins also won 75 per cent of his ground duels against Bologna, while also boasting a 100 per cent dribble success.

He only played 64 minutes, but his display was enough to earn him a positive 7.8 FotMob rating. His two efforts on goal totalled 0.98 xG; however, all good strikers get themselves into good positions to score.

What did Watkins say after the Bologna game?

Watkins is on 13 goals and counting for this season, and is only four away from equaling his tally from last campaign.

Speaking after the contest, the number nine shared his thoughts on achieving 100 goals for the club and what his ambitions are next.

Watkins said, as quoted by The Athletic: “(It’s) definitely a milestone I’ll cherish. It only gives me motivation to score 100 Premier League goals now.”

Watkins is on 84 goals for Villa in the Premier League now, but the question is, will he reach the 100 mark?