Speaking recently on The Villa View podcast, Dan Bardell discussed Aston Villa’s interest in signing Brentford striker, Ollie Watkins.
Since joining Brentford from Exeter City in what was a £1.8 million deal back in 2017, Watkins has enjoyed quite a remarkable rise.
In total, the 24-year-old has made 143 appearances for the West London club, scoring 49 goals and providing 17 assists.
However, it was during last season in which Watkins really flourished, bagging 26 goals and providing three assists over 49 appearances in the Championship and the Championship play-offs, averaging a highly impressive WhoScored match rating of 7.26 – ranking him as the club’s second-best performer in the league, behind only Said Benrahma.
His performances have caught the attention of several Premier League clubs, with Watkins being linked to the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Leeds United and Aston Villa over the course of this summer.
Recently, it has been reported that Villa are the most likely to land the forward, with The Sun claiming that the Birmingham-based club are ‘set to land’ Watkins in a £22 million deal.
This is something that it would seem Dan Bardell also believes appears likely, as he recently stated on The Villa View podcast:
“I still think he’ll sign. I’m not sure what the hold up is, but I think he’ll sign. I think he’ll be one of the ones that’s in by the end of the week [or] at the start of next week. I don’t see us missing out on him, to be honest.
“There’ll be something holding it up at the moment, because it’s clear that that’s been on the radar for a while and it’s clear that that’s been something that’s been in motion for a while, so there’s something holding it up.
“At some point, I think there was one of the comments earlier about they’d [Aston Villa] rather have Watkins than [Callum] Wilson. I don’t think it’s that kind of situation. Watkins will come in as someone who can play wide and up front, which is what we need.
“There’s no way we don’t sign a striker, as well. Absolutely no chance. If Watkins comes in, unless something goes massively wrong, there’s no way that he’ll be coming in as the main striker. He’ll be coming in as someone who can play wide and someone that can play up front in certain games, and when required if there’s injuries and things like that.
“Watkins will happen, I’m pretty confident of that one. I just think it’s taken a lot longer than anyone would have anticipated.”
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TIF Thoughts…
From Bardell’s comments, then, although he seems unsure as to why there is a hold up in the club’s move for Watkins, he certainly appears to be of the belief that the forward will indeed be an Aston Villa player by the time the Premier League season starts, which, for a fan of the club, must be very exciting news to hear.