One goal from Ollie Watkins’ against Newcastle in the Premier League on Week 19, halted a goal drought in as many as nine games before. In addition to successfully delivering Aston Villa to win two goals without reply, Watkins’ goals also silenced criticism aimed at him. What’s more, Watkins’ status as a Championship player or playing in the English second division last season.
Reporting from Transfermarkt, Watkins is the third most expensive player ever released by a Championship club. The two names above are Nathan Ake and Moussa Sissoko. But they were bought from a team that had just been relegated, meaning that the previous season Ake and Sissoko played in the Premier League.
Watkins was redeemed by Aston Villa for € 30 million from Brentford, the team that lost in last season’s Championship play-off final to Fulham. He is also Aston Villa’s most expensive purchase. Some of these things became a lot of debate at the start of the season.
At the Championship level, Watkins is not an ordinary player. Reporting from the BBC, he was one of the Championship’s top scorers last season with a total of 26 goals, the same number as Aleksandar Mitrovic. Although both are in England, scoring goals in the Championship and Premier League is certainly different. Not a few players have struggled in the Premier League even though they previously played well in the Championship.
The public who criticized Watkins began to take his prediction right when Watkins failed to score in nine games. Actually, the 25-year-old player still looks good even though he failed to score. The constant movement that he makes often opens up space for Jack Grealish or other attackers. High speed and determination also often make it difficult for opponent defense. Not only when Aston Villa held the ball, even without the ball, Watkins was diligent in pressing. The total of 132 pressure he exerted in the final third of the pitch was the most in the Premier League.
Aston Villa manager Dean Smith gave Watkins high praise after the match against Crystal Palace last December. Tyrone Mings got a red card at the end of the first half. Aston Villa was amazingly able to win the match 3-0 despite playing with 10 players.
“There is no player in the Premier League that I like as a striker when I play with 10 more players than Ollie Watkins,” said Smith. Watkins scored an assist and was involved in many creating chances.
Watkins ‘new’ scored seven goals in 17 games this season. If you look at the expected goals per 90 minutes, he is fifth in the Premier League. Better than a number of well-known strikers such as Harry Kane, Roberto Firmino, Alexandre Lacazette and Timo Werner. This shows that Watkins is constantly able to endanger the opponent’s goal, it’s just that the final finish is not optimal.
The goal against Newcastle seemed to remind the public that he was not an arbitrary player. Watkins is Smith’s mainstay player in the Premier League. He always played the full 17 games at Aston Villa. Watkins ‘contribution to the Aston Villa game has also been a factor in The Villans’ impressive performance this season.
If he continues to play nicely, Watkins can be one of the successful transfers of Championship players. Following in the footsteps of several previous players. Here are some of the Championship transfer success stories.
Gareth Bale
Tottenham Hotspur bought Gareth Bale in 2007 from Southampton who was still in the Championship at that time. Two early seasons, Bale had difficulty breaking into the first team. The 2010/11 season was a season that defined Bale’s career.
Harry Redknapp began to install Bale on the left wing. The hat-trick against Inter Milan in the Champions League group stage will be an unforgettable moment. The last season at Tottenham was the 2012/13 season, he was able to score 26 goals. Moving to Real Madrid, Bale became a world class player. He also contributed to two La Liga titles and four Champions League titles.
Theo Walcott
Just like Bale, Theo Walcott moved from Southampton to North London. The difference is, he joined Arsenal. Walcott started breaking into the first team in his second season at Arsenal, which was the 2006/07 season. Then he became Arsene Wenger’s mainstay until 2017.
Walcott made a total of 398 appearances with 108 goals and 78 assists. An extraordinary achievement, even though it was not able to lead Arsenal to win the Premier League. Impressive performance with the Gunners made him a subscription to the England national team.
James Maddison
James Maddison is one of the expensive transfers from the Championship club. Leicester City had to spend € 25 million to bring in Maddison from Norwich City in 2018. If you look at Maddison’s contribution to The Foxes, he is a successful transfer.
This 24-year-old player immediately penetrated the first team in his first season. He ended the 2018/19 season with a record of seven goals and seven assists in all competitions. This season, Maddison is an important player for Brendan Rodgers in the Leicester squad that was able to break into the top four by half the season. Maddison scored six goals and four assists in the Premier League.
Apart from these three names, there are many more successful transfers of Championship players. Some of them are Aaron Ramsey, Tim Cahill, Joleon Lescott, John Stones, Joe Gomez, Neal Maupay, and Michail Antonio. They are not world-class players, but they have contributed positively to their new club in the Premier League.
Just like Watkins, until now he has been impressing with Aston Villa. The hat-trick against Liverpool in the 7-2 win was Watkins’ best moment so far. Aston Villa is now perched in eighth position with 29 points, it can still go up if it is able to win the remaining two matches. Watkins has played an important role in Aston VIlla’s neat form this season.
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