Ollie Watkins’ form could compel Unai Emery to make a January transfer decision at Aston Villa; a suitable replacement is required.
Ollie Watkins’ Premier League form for Aston Villa is now causing anxiety at Villa Park, and it could force Unai Emery into a January transfer raid to propel the team to new heights in the second half of the season.
The international break gives Villa management the opportunity to discover precise tactical solutions to Watkins’ poor form, although the Villans could have done with a quality replacement in the summer window.
The West Midlands club sanctioned Cameron Archer’s departure to Sheffield United in a big-money £18m move, which surprised many at the club given Archer’s willingness to compete at the highest level.
Jhon Duran is clearly a guy worth supporting, but expecting him to deliver goals when Watkins is now unable to is asking too much of a player who only joined the club in January.
Watkins failed to hit the target with his two shots in 73 minutes on the pitch against Liverpool in their 3-0 loss at Anfield on Sunday (3 September), recorded just 20 touches, completed just seven of his nine passes, won one of his four total duels, lost possession six times, and recorded just one key pass (SofaScore) in another anonymous Premier League performance.
More importantly, Watkins is currently going through one of his goal-shy stretches. After the Liverpool defeat, he has now scored just one Premier League goal in his past ten games, against Brighton on the final day of the 22/23 season [SofaScore].
He did score a hat trick in Hibernian’s 5-0 win in the Europa Conference League qualifying first leg in Scotland, but it was against a struggling and inexperienced club.
In addition, the England international has already squandered four great chances this season and is failing his 1.77 xG (anticipated goals) in all four Villa games [SofaScore].
There’s little doubt about Watkins’ ability to rediscover his scoring feet soon since he’s getting in the proper places to score, but luck isn’t on his side.
Watkins is in the 96th percentile of European attackers for the proportion of his shots that were on target last season (53.6%), and he is also in the top 15% of forwards for predicted goals per shot taken (0.18 per 90).
The England international has been hitting the right notes, remaining in scoring position and shooting on target, so another incredible run is very likely.
However, Emery would be foolish not to plan for a quality big-money replacement in the January window to compensate for when Watkins has another dry spell in the future.
Signing a quality alternative in January might mean the difference between Aston Villa finishing substantially higher in the Premier League table and attaining an unprecedented knockout spot in the Europa Conference League if they beat their group in the competition.
Watkins increased his Premier League goalscoring output to 15 last season, and he appears to have the potential to surpass the 20-goal barrier this season with the appropriate sources of creativity surrounding him.
However, as is already the case, he may require much of the weight lifted off his shoulders, and while he’ll be expected to score in the coming weeks, Emery must try to provide him with the additional assistance he requires in January.
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