OPINION
While Dean Smith’s priority at Aston Villa will be to conduct an immediate transformation of their current form, he will also have one eye firmly on the winter transfer window as he beds himself into his new role.
The former Brentford man has arrived at Villa Park to fill the void left by Steve Bruce and has a tough job on his hands to get their play off bid back on track, currently sitting 15th in the Championship table.
There can be no questioning he has a talented bunch of players at his disposal, even if they are lacking in certain areas, and it is his task to try and get them pulling in the same direction in their hopes to return to the Premier League.
One area a few might say is their strongest is their attack, but while that might be the case on paper, no one has really stepped up to show the spark needed to ignite their season or get the fans out their seasts – and that is why Smith may well be looking at an old flame.
Ollie Watkins was one of Brentford’s top stars last season, netting 11 goals across all competitions, and the 22-year-old has continued his fine form into the current campaign with four strikes under his belt already, playing as both a left winger and centre forward.
As stated by the Mirror, the young forward cost Brentford £1.8million back in 2017 and has been tipped for an England call up by Smith himself, saying: “There is certainly a lot of value in the lower divisions if your market is good young players. We found one with Ollie, so it’s a question of where you look and how hard you look.”
However, instead of scouring the lower reaches of the football pyramid again, Smith simply needs to get his former star to follow him to the Midlands, for he could become a Villa hero by firing them to promotion.
Watkins would be a perfect first signing for the new boss, and give the Villa fans a talent who can get them out their seats with his electric form in front of goal.