The man who brought Ollie Watkins to Aston Villa suggests Unai Emery’s plan to revive his career
Aston Villa are finally beginning to find their form in the Premier League despite a slow start to the season which had seen questions asked of their star players.
Unai Emery’s side beat Man City 1-0 on 26 October, with Matty Cash scoring the winner to extend Villa’s unbeaten Premier League run to six games.
However, their early-season concerns have lingered surrounding Ollie Watkins, who has found the net just once and failed to provide an assist in nine league games.
Watkins was left on the bench against Tottenham, although Emery praised him highly for his substitute appearance and he returned to the starting XI against City.
That has done little to ease the worries about his goalscoring form, however, as he failed to make the most of his opportunities despite an important overall display.
Ollie Watkins backed to reignite Aston Villa form
Former Aston Villa scout Mick Brown told Football Insider on 30 September that Aston Villa are concerned about Watkins’ form and are eyeing a new striker.
However, Emery is believed to be keen to stick by his main man, and believe he will come good and get through this rocky spell of form as he has shown in the past.
That is according to former Villa and Man United senior scout Mick Brown, who remains very well-connected at his former clubs, as he exclusively told Football Insider that Watkins is determined to prove the doubters wrong.
“Villa and Emery will know him better than anybody,” he told Football Insider.
“A lot of players sometimes need challenging and knocking out of that complacency which can build, especially if he knows he’s their main option in that position.
“That’s why he was on the bench against Tottenham, it was a challenge for him to prove himself. Then he did well in that game, impressed the manager, and came back into the team against City.
“Ollie Watkins was a non-league player, came through the lower leagues and each time he had to prove himself, he did it at Brentford and impressed there as well.
“I was instrumental in bringing him to Villa and trying to persuade the board to spend what it would take to get him in, and eventually they got it done.
“Watkins scores goals, they’re not always pretty but he scores, and sometimes he misses. He controls balls up to him, but sometimes mis-controls them.
“Sometimes he can be a bit hit and miss, and with players like that you either like them or you don’t, but in his case you stick with him because you know what he can do.
“He’s difficult for defenders to play against even if he’s not scoring goals, because he’ll twist and turn and run you all day, it’s not an easy job.
“But at every stage, in non-league, at Brentford, at Villa and even with England, he’s proved his doubters wrong, and I’d back him to do that again with this patch of form.
“I have no doubt Villa have been a bit concerned about this run where he isn’t scoring, but they will have no doubt he will get back to his best, and they’ll stick with him.
“Ollie is one of those players who is determined to prove people wrong. He’ll bounce back and show how good he is, rather than shrinking and hiding away.”
Watkins is in the worst form of his Aston Villa career, and the lack of depth in his position to push him for a starting XI spot has been cited as one of the reasons.
Aston Villa set sights on Wilson Isidor as Watkins competition
As a result of their concerns about Watkins, there is a belief at Villa Park that a new striker will be needed in January to challenge the England forward if not take his place.
Jhon Duran’s move to Al Nassr in January left Emery short of options, and they failed to land an out-and-out replacement due to their financial concerns in the summer.
More recently, however, Football Insider exclusively revealed on 26 September that Aston Villa are closely monitoring Wilson Isidor following his tremendous start to the season.
Scouts have been sent to keep close tabs on his performances at the Stadium of Light as Villa weigh up whether he is the right man to strengthen Emery’s side.
Isidor scored in Sunderland’s 1-1 draw with Villa earlier this season, and has proved his worth in the Premier League with four goals in nine games so far.
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