Aston Villa are on course to enjoy one of their best seasons in years, thanks to the great work put in by the players and Unai Emery.
At the weekend, the Villans ran out 2-0 winners at Arsenal. Combined with Tottenham’s heavy loss at Newcastle, it put Villa three points clear of fifth-placed Spurs.
Then, on Thursday night, Villa took Lille to penalties in the Europa Conference League before triumphing in the shoot-out to reach the final four of the competition.
Although most Villans players have been superb this season, one in particular deserves huge credit for his heroics in claret and blue this term.
Ollie Watkins has been one of the Premier League’s best forwards this season, registering a superb 19 goals and 10 assists in the top flight.
Only two players – Chelsea’s Cole Palmer and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland – have scored more than the Villa star in the league.
Watkins has also scored four times in the Europa Conference League, doing his bit to help Villa reach their first European semi-final since 1982.
Kevin Nolan, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, has sung the Villans striker’s praises and backed him for a spot in the England squad at Euro 2024.
What has Kevin Nolan said about Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins?
“Everyone forgets that Ollie Watkins can play on the left, by the way,” said Nolan. “He was unbelievable in the lower leagues, and he has done it for Aston Villa as well
“He has played out wide at times, he has come in and has used his pace coming in.
“Especially if you going to play with, in my eyes, the lads he should in Declan and Phil and Bellingham, you are going to need that pace to open things up to make sure that these boys can the open the space in between the lines.
“So, for me, I think he has got to be there anyway because he can fill that 9 role, but he can also do either side, a 11 and a 7 because of what he has done this season.
“He has been unbelievable for them, and I hope he goes on because he played against me when I was at Notts County for Exeter in League Two. So, for what he has done is unbelievable.”
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Watkins has been outstanding for Villa, a club on the up, and it’ll be exciting to see how he continues to develop for a club that will surely be gunning for regular silverware in years to come.
In the meantime, with England set for Euro 2024, he certainly deserves to be on the plane for Germany.
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