Ollie Watkins scored a brace in Aston Villa’s 3-2 win over Everton in the Premier League last Saturday. He thus opened his account in terms of scoring goals this season. More importantly, his brace helped his side notch up its third win in its fourth match this season.
Watkins’ opportunism helped Villa snatch victory from the jaws of defeat after Everton had taken a 2-0 lead early on in the match. The Aston Villa centre-forward, who has been making appearance for the English national team for the past few months, remains one of the most dependable strikers in Premier League.
Watkins was Impressive Last Season
Watkins scored 27 goals in 53 matches last season, which is a handsome return. He has now scored 70 goals in 172 matches for Aston Villa and has scored goals in double digits in each of the last nine seasons for Villa and Brentford, his previous club.
That makes him one of the most prolific strikers in England. The likes of Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah are almost in a different league altogether in terms of their scoring rates, but among the lesser mortals, Watkins finds himself quite high.
In fact, the 28-year-old English striker has had a key role to play in Villa’s rise in English football in the recent past. He is not very tall, but can be really quick on the surface and has the ability to get into good positions to tap into the ball inside the opposition penalty box.
Watkins’ Career Coinciding with Kane’s
Harry Kane is only a couple of years older than Watkins, which means that the latter has had to live in the former’s shadow for almost the entire length of his career so far. Still, he has been able to earn 15 international caps for The Three Lions so far, having scored four goals.
However, he should have gotten more game time at the European Championships in 2024. His match-winner against the Netherlands, however, sent England to the final for the second successive time. It is another matter that the English failed to win the title yet again, but Watkins’ worth was proven.
In fact, he looked faster and more decisive with his movement on the pitch than Kane, who certainly was not at his best in the tournament. Still, Kane is too good a player to have an indifferent form for a long period of time and should have at least a couple of years more in international football.
Still, one can hope that Watkins will continue to get look-ins in the Three Lions set-up in the near future. He will also play UEFA Champions League football this season and should try to do enough to ensure that his club continues to get the privilege next season, too. Unai Emery, the Aston Villa manager, will depend a lot on him to have a repeat of last season’s heroics. With the kind of team Villa has got, there is no reason why Emery’s men cannot do it again.