Jamie Redknapp thinks Ollie Watkins could be suffering a “hangover” from being dropped for Marcus Rashford last season and believes one Aston Villa player is “world-class”.
Aston Villa are 19th in the Premier League with two draws and two defeats from their opening four matches and are yet to score a goal in the top flight.
They did score their first goal of 2025/26 against Brentford in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday but were knocked out on penalties after Aaron Hickey canceled out Harvey Elliott’s opener.
Unai Emery has used an apparent summer rebuild as his main excuse for his side’s slow start to the campaign and Redknapp, who believes Villa are “devoid of confidence and belief”, has identified a Watkins “hangover” as a contributing factor.
Indeed, the former England midfielder says there’s a chance Watkins is still feeling the effects of being dropped for Rashford last season after the Manchester United winger impressed during a six-month loan spell.
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“You looked at Watkins and thought he was going to score goals and end of last season he was obviously left out for Rashford – is there still a little hangover with that because he’s lost that belief the manager had in him and that trust? That can affect you for a long time,” Redknapp said.
There was a spell last term when Emery preferred Rashford but between February and the end of the season, Watkins scored six goals and provided three assists, and he didn’t miss a single match in the Premier League all season, starting 31 times.
A player Redknapp thinks can get Villa out of their funk is Morgan Rogers, who is “world-class”. Not according to us, though. He also backed new signing Elliott to make an impact.
“Morgan Rogers is a world-class player, I think the world of him, so he’s the sort of player that can carry the team forward, but he needs a bit of help as well.
“And I look at the team and the energy isn’t quite there.
“It’s going to be a really interesting season because when you’re not scoring goals like they have – I know they got the first one from open play in a long time here – but they’re not looking like they’re creating an abundance of chances either.
“And that’s why you’re going to be reliant on maybe Harvey Elliott to do something, create a bit of magic.”
Villa face Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Sunday afternoon in their next match.
The Black Cats have started the season well following promotion from the Championship, winning two, drawing one and losing one of their opening four Premier League fixtures.
They’ve won two out of two at home, which is bad news for Villa.
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