Aston Villa's January transfer issue as Ollie Watkins' form discussed
Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins
Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins(Image: Michael Zemanek/Shutterstock)
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Ollie Watkins’ form has been hotly debated among Aston Villa fans this season.
The striker has only scored once in the first 14 matches of the campaign, and Villa’s attacking numbers have been a cause for concern.
Despite turning a corner in late September and enjoying an excellent October, Villa have still posted the second-lowest xG figure among Premier League teams, only ahead of Burnley.
You can read more about Villa’s concerning attacking statistics [here], much of which could help explain Watkins’ lack of goals this term.
On Claret & Blue, Dan Rolinson and John Townley discussed the striker’s start to the campaign, as well as whether it might be possible to sign a new forward in January or improve the quality around him.
“If you ask me now - should we have sold him in the summer? - that’s a different conversation and you need different information. At the time I asked: how much money? Who are you targeting? Will they fit? Will they get chances and take them? That slow start could have affected them.
“But no - like you said in the post-match after Liverpool, you still back him to get 15 goals. If people back him to get five, fine. The key thing for me is that we still need to get behind him and support him. Nothing changes between now and January - which is a lot of games - and maybe not until the end of the season.
“Here’s a difficult question: when I talk about transfer activity, I actually think we’re well stocked in positions behind Ollie. We have McGinn, Rogers, Buendia, Guessand, Sancho, Elliott and Tielemans who can play there as well - six or seven players to fill three roles. That’s a lot.
“So the real question is: would you rather replace Watkins, or add more creativity - players who can beat a man and create chances? What would you prefer in January? For me, in January I’d rather add to what we’ve got in a support role.
“There will be people saying ‘do this, do that’, but we’ve got our hands tied. How much would you get for Watkins in January? I can’t see a situation where we bring in a striker for tens of millions and get £60m for him. You signed Guessand for up to £30m; in the Premier League today that’s a £30m player. There are bargains, but it’s tricky.
“Look at the Bournemouth forward Kroupi - he was a good pickup, but Villa don’t often sign unknown players and suddenly they’re fine; there are reasons for that. Jhon Duran is an exception, but he took time to really settle. That’s what people want: immediate impact.
“To round up: Ollie takes blame - not all the blame. What do we do about it? We get behind him until January. Whatever happens then happens, but there’s also a feasible chance he stays and plays out the season, which is fine by me as long as we add creative elements around him.
“We’ve got a big squad, so someone may have to be offloaded. If people say we need a new striker, that’s fine - but who does that look like and how much will it cost? January is a premium market; no club wants to lose a striker, especially one good enough to replace Watkins.
“Maybe circumstances change, but we must temper expectations: we’re under Emery, the fourth-best team, but our revenues sit much lower - around seventh or eighth without Champions League money. We can’t just spend £50m on a striker in January without selling a big player. A January signing might actually be a £35m player inflated by the market, so we need to be careful.”
Where should Villa improve in January? Tell us here
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