Former Premier League footballer Carlton Palmer believes that Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins are going to need time to form a strike partnership.
So far this season, Ings has scored two goals and provided a further two, whilst Watkins has one goal after getting on the scoresheet in Aston Villa’s most recent Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur.
How many goals will Ings and Watkins score between them this season?
3-10
11-20
21-30
31+
Palmer believes that the £48m-rated duo need time to strike a partnership, telling This is Futbol: “A strike partnership takes time to evolve and if you’re going to play two up top, you’ve got to be able to get into a position where the ball’s getting wide and you’re getting the ball into the box.
“So whether Villa have the players and team to do that, and if they don’t, then they’ll have to revert back to the system of playing the one up, but Danny Ings can do the job as he’s done for Southampton. He’s played the one up on his own, he’s played the one off, so he could play Watkins up top and Danny just off of him to bolster that midfield to make sure they’re not being overrun in midfield – they’ve got options.
“Villa will be alright under Dean Smith. Dean Smith is a very, very good manager and he’s got a very, very capable assistant in Craig Shakespeare.”
Villa have improved season-on-season under Dean Smith in the Premier League. Their first season back in the top flight, which was the 2019/2020 campaign, they finished 17th in the league table, compare that to 12 months later and they finished in eleventh spot in the Premier League.
Landing Ings this summer massively helped bolster Villa’s strike force. Both the 29-year-old and Watkins have found the back of the net whichever club they have been at and have a combined total of 200 goals between them throughout their careers.
If Smith can get them to form a partnership, then Aston Villa should score plenty of goals and it could help them have another season where they improve on their previous position.