Aston Villa journalist Gregg Evans has been sharing his praise for Villa striker Ollie Watkins.
This comes after Evans recently made an appearance on The Athletic’s Villa-themed podcast 1874 where he reflected on the Birmingham club’s 3-0 Premier League win over Fulham earlier in the week.
On the topic of Watkins, who played throughout the entire game at Craven Cottage, Evans had this to say on the Englishman.
He said: “It was so easy for Villa [to attack Fulham] and to think Ollie Watkins has had one of those nights where just nothing has gone for him.
“I really think he’s making a big difference actually, to Villa, I think that he’s given them a new dimension and his hold up play is great, he creates space for others and that’s helping the midfielders flourish.
“In front of goal it just [wasn’t] working for him, was it? He’s one of these guys that really, critically analyses his own performances and I know he’ll be stewing over it.”
Villa signed Watkins from Championship side Brentford earlier in the current summer transfer window for a club-record fee of £27.72 million.
Since arriving at the Birmingham club, the 24-year-old has scored two goals in four appearances for Villa but has yet to score in the Premier League.
In the game against Fulham, the striker earned himself a decent match rating of 7.46/10 for his performance in the victory where he won seven aerial duels, more than any other player on the pitch (per WhoScored).
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TIF Thoughts…
It’s great to hear Evans’ praise for Watkins and the fact that he recognises the work the striker put in for Villa on the pitch against Fulham despite the fact that he didn’t score in the game.
Hopefully, Watkins can continue putting in good performances for Dean Smith’s side and eventually start scoring goals for the team in the Premier League.