Why new contract is a ‘big statement’ for Ollie Watkins and Aston Villa
Latest news and views on Aston Villa from BirminghamLive as Claret and Blues secure Ollie Watkins’ future
Ollie Watkins has spent the prime years of his football career with Aston Villa after agreeing a new contract that could keep him at the club until 2028. It’s been a great week for Claret and The Blues, who beat Brighton in their most recent Premier League run. competition. picked up an important win in the Europa Conference League and now face Wolves with speculation surrounding their centre-forward.
It comes after the former Brentford man signed a new five-year contract and now aims to become the club’s top scorer in the Premier League by surpassing Gabby Agbonlahor’s tally of 74. Watkins is 44th in 116 games and hopes to add to that tally at Molineux on Sunday.
Our Villa correspondent John Townley and Claret & Blue Podcast host Dan Rolinson reacted to the news, here’s a transcript of their discussion. You can watch the Claret & Blue podcast on You Tube.
DR:
That’s great news, isn’t it? We’ve been talking about it for weeks! How much we love him and this contract news had to come sooner or later, to tie down Ollie Watkins at 27, a player in his prime to sign a 5 year contract and commit the best part of he. his career. at the villa.
This is exactly what we wanted and hope it will help him increase his confidence for the next upcoming matches and start scoring a few goals. JT:
Yes, obviously a huge boost for Villa, it’s no secret that the club have been in talks for some time. They recently found a breakthrough and now everything is signed.
Watkins is a player that I think a lot of Premier League clubs would sacrifice a lot to have him in their team, not just because of the number of goals he scores – and he scores a lot – but also for what he brings. with the ball. , what he brings to the table as a character, he always seeks to improve.
We always knew Dean Smith wanted to sign him for these specific reasons. He saw a high ceiling for him and that helped him grow. Unai Emery goes one step further, personal performance coach, behind the scenes member of Emery’s team, Rodri, he works closely with him every day and Watkins often stays late at Bodymoor after training, no necessarily working with a ball on the practice field but also analyzing and studying the best strikers, including Erling Haaland.
A top player that Villa have in their ranks and one who, as you say, will spend the best years of his career at Villa Park. It is quite a surprise considering he has achieved double-digit results in all of his Premier League campaigns.
Of all the players to have made more than 100 appearances for Villa, Watkins has the best goals-per-game ratio in the Premier League. This proves that we have a top striker on our hands and we will be lucky to have him in the team for many years to come.
DR:
We all know how football contracts work. Just because he signed a five-year contract doesn’t mean he’ll be there for the next five years. But if he stays here for a few more seasons, he will break the top scorer record that Gabby [Agbonlahor] currently holds because he will score 15 goals this season and almost the same in the next two seasons. according to. He will become the player who scores the most goals for Aston Villa in the Premier League. I’m pretty sure about that.
I’m not sharp enough to think he’ll be here for five years, because football contracts don’t necessarily have that effect, but tying him down is a huge statement of intent, isn’t it? Are not? He was one of the few players we signed at the time (after promotion) who did not receive a new contract.
Ezri Konsa signed in 2019 and has since signed a new contract. Martinez signed the same contract as Watkins, he has a new contract, Matty Cash has a new contract. Douglas Luiz did it, John McGinn did it, he signed a little earlier, but since then he’s signed a new contract.
Watkins’ contract itself has begun to become a talking point: “Well, if he doesn’t have one, maybe he doesn’t want one.” So effectively all of that has now been put aside with a contract running until 2028 that could theoretically keep him at the club from 2020 to 2028, which as We said it probably wouldn’t happen. But the principle is there: he essentially devoted the best years of his career to Aston Villa.
JT:
This is also an important statement when there is no shortage of interest from big clubs in a player like Ollie Watkins. It’s good to see that he sees Villa moving in the right direction too. Obviously we are in Europe this season, but we aim to not just play in Europe for one season.
We want to play in the Champions League in a few years under Unai Emery and Watkins obviously plays a big role in that. Like when Tyrone Mings got a new contract earlier this year, it was a sign to these players that Emery was coming to the building, he evaluates everything and appreciates the players who have been here under Steven Gerrard and the players Dean bought Smith from. What Villa don’t have in Steven Gerrard is an appreciation of ‘This is what I have and this is how I will improve them’. That’s exactly what Emery did. He not only improved them but believed in them and now they are at the heart of this project.
Every summer there are calls for Villa to need a new striker, but it is difficult to sign a player who can do what Watkins can do and more, especially when you are a football team. like Villa cannot participate in the Champions League. If Villa want to spend £60-70m on a striker, then honestly how much would Ollie Watkins cost in today’s market. These players will not go to Villa because they are already Champions League quality. They have that in Ollie Watkins. Yes, team depth can be an issue. but they also have a number 9 and an England international.
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