After just scraping out a survival in the English top flight last season, Aston Villa are now on-course to break the bank in the transfer market. According to reports, it’s Championship striker Ollie Watkins who they have at the top of their wish-list.
The Brentford forward is reportedly very close to signing for the Premier League club. Watkins was fabulous last season with 25 goals and three assists in 46 games.
Today we take a look at a detailed scout report of the English attacker, as he reportedly gets ready to ply his trade for Villa next season in the Premier League.
Aston Villa’s Consistent Goalscorer?
Positioning and Suitability at Aston Villa
Watkins’ positioning is interesting. He is not the usual forward who sticks to his zones and presses the opposition back-line. The 24-year-old can be seen everywhere on the field, thanks to his eagerness to drop back and strive to dispossess the opposition.
Naturally, Watkins can play anywhere in the front-three of a team. Though his heatmap shows that he is focused on the right-half of the pitch. Watkins found his career-best last season at Brentford in a 4-3-3 formation, and with Aston Villa playing the same formation last season, the new man could settle in very well tactically.
He has competition from Brazilian striker Wesley. But with the current Villa striker not performing up to the par, Watkins has got a real chance to make it as a first team regular. Thanks to his versatility, the possible new signing can could solve several problems in the Villa frontline.
Ollie Watkins – The Numbers
The Brentford striker averaged 0.60 goal contributions every 90 minutes which is a great figure considering the Championship has more than 40 games every season. He has massively improved upon his Goals per Shots on target ratio too.
Watkins had a goals per shots on target ratio of 0.24 and 0.29 in 2017/18 and 2018/19 respectively. Last season, he took it to another level of 0.51 goals for every shot on target. That’s basically a goal for every two shots on target which is incredible.
The Championship striker is known for his defensive work-rate, and his numbers actually prove the same. Watkins had one tackle & recovery every 90 minutes, which is a great statistic for a forward.
With the level of Premier League excruciatingly high, it will be interesting to see how the Brentford top-scorer will fare in the first division next season should he complete the Villa move.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Ollie Watkins
One of the forward’s key strengths is his anchor play. Usually ‘anchors’ are central or defensive midfielders, but Watkins gives it a different dimension by doing the job as an attacking player.
He is a dream forward option for any manager as his anchor play in the final third means he is the first defender for the team. His great defensive statistics suggest how he can actually prove to be a menace for the opposition back-line in a non-offensive form too.
Though the probable new Aston Villa signing doesn’t have an outstanding weakness, there are surely some talking points here. Watkins’ role is of a forward should see him receive more of the final ball rather than playing that pass himself. When he is asked top play the pass, though, he has been fairly inaccurate.
Watkins has a passing success rate of just 73%. This is below average for an attacker of his quality. Most of his fellow Championship forwards have better accuracy. Moreover, the wantaway front-man’s passing figures are extremely ironic.
He has made more accurate passes in his own half (84%) than in the opposition half (70%). Why is this figure a surprising one? Because Watkins spends most of his time in the opposition half.
Nevertheless, if Ollie Watkins promises even a figure of around 15 goals for Villa next season, he will be a hit. The Premier League is a different puzzle, though, and many greats have failed. If Aston Villa break their record for Watkins in the coming days, the Championship is surely losing one of its gems.
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