Ollie Watkins enjoyed a fruitful 2023/24 season, helping get Aston Villa into the Champions League with 19 goals in the Premier League.
Without his talismanic form, Aston Villa may have had to settle for a lesser European competition under Unai Emery. And while the Spaniard is the master in the Europa League, all Villa fans were praying for a top four finish. They duly earned it.
Success has been achieved with an attacking swagger rarely seen in that part of the country. The 76 league goals scored was Villa’s highest tally in a 38-game top-flight season since 1913; Watkins’ 27 goals in all competitions, the highest total for a Villa player since Andy Gray in 1976/77. Adding 13 league assists also showed that Watkins’ value lies in more than just goals.
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For Premier League legend and former Aston Villa striker, Dwight Yorke, he believes there's a clear resemblance between his style and Watkins'.
“I see a lot of myself in Ollie Watkins,” Yorke exclusively tells FourFourTwo. “He’s a creator, a dribbler and a finisher, a bit like I was back in the day. You saw from his number of goals and assists last term that he has a little bit of everything. His work ethic is also admirable. He’s a top, top player. You don’t get to that level, scoring that many goals and contributing creatively, unless you’re a fantastic footballer.
“It took him a little while to reach those levels, but now he is established. He’s one of those players you can pick again and again, every week, because his level is always high and he has shown that he can be trusted consistently. That’s what the top players do.
“Where does Watkins go from here? Can he produce that again this season, while also performing in the Champions League?”
If he does, then Villa could well work their way into the last 16 of the European competition. Villa will need goals from Watkins against the likes of Bayern Munich, Juventus, RB Leipzig, Monaco and Celtic if they're to stand a chance - but if last term is anything to go by, the Englishman won't be fazed.
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