Ollie Watkins has been subject to a lot of transfer interest this summer, with Manchester United said to be monitoring his situation.
The 29-year-old has been at Aston Villa for five years now, scoring 87 goals over 223 appearances in all competitions. There was a lot of promise when he joined for a then club-record fee of £28million from Brentford, and he quickly proved himself as a reliable Premier League forward.
But now Watkins has been linked with a move away from Villa, hoping to make the leap to a ‘Big Six’ club and challenge himself in an environment with the spotlight on him.
So, how has his game evolved over the past five seasons?
Goals
Watkins’ minutes have hardly wavered since he arrived at Villa, except at a few points last season — namely, during the short-lived Jhon Duran frenzy late last year. With this, we have the luxury of viewing how his game has taken a phenomenal leap under Unai Emery.
In the season before Emery joined, Watkins managed just 11 league goals, 1 shot on target per 90 minutes and 1.6 shots (excluding blocks) per 90. In Emery’s first season, this spiked up to 15 goals, 1.4 shots on target per 90 and 2.1 shots (excluding blocks) per 90. The Villa boss had his starting striker getting the service he needed, and the numbers reflected this.
In 2023-24, Watkins took a superstar leap. He finished the season on 19 Premier League goals, only behind Erling Haaland (27), Cole Palmer (22) and Alexander Isak (21). He logged 2.5 shots (excluding blocks) per 90 – his most since joining Villa. Watkins also played a key role in securing the club a fourth-placed finish and Champions League qualification.
His most efficient season in front of goal came in 2024-25, when he managed a 23.88% conversation rate. However, his output slightly dropped, largely due to reduced minutes. His 0.6 goals per 90 matched the season prior, but he played over 600 fewer minutes.
Creativity
Capable of playing off both wings when required, Watkins is more than a traditional No. 9. There’s no doubt Watkins operates best as a central striker, but he’s more than comfortable drifting wide when necessary.
Watkins’ best creative season arguably came under Dean Smith in 2020-21 — his first campaign at Villa. The Englishman logged 15.3 open-play passes completed per 90, 1.2 chances created per 90 and 4.2 forward passes per 90. He is yet to register better numbers in these three categories.
Nevertheless, the season that sticks out in everyone’s mind is when he won the Premier League Playmaker of the Season award for the most assists in 2023-24, with 13. That year he managed 12.2 open-play passes completed per 90, 1.2 chances created per 90 and 3.3 forward passes per 90. But that’s still down from his numbers in 2020-21.
Watkins’ creative burden last season was much less, due to the mid-season introductions of Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio. He put up career lows in the follow stats: open-play passes completed per 90 (10.4), chances created per 90 (0.9), and forward passes per 90 (2.4).
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Dribbling
Watkins’ dribbling numbers seem to follow a similar trend to his creative statistics. He was most involved in Villa’s general build-up play in 2020-21, whereas he was least influential in 2024-25.
In his first season, he enjoyed career bests in take-on success percentage (57.14), fouls won per 90 (1.4), and touches per 90 (38.2). He also averaged 1.1 take-ons completed per 90 — his second-most in a Premier League season.
Meanwhile, last season was statistically his worst in possession. Watkins was more often restricted to playing as a target man. He logged just 0.4 take-ons completed per 90, a 27.03% take-on success rate, 1.2 fouls won per 90, and 27.1 touches per 90.
What’s next for Watkins?
Watkins’ role at Villa has been fairly consistent throughout; he’s a clinical central striker that can drift wide when asked. In his first season, he was more frequently made to do so, whereas in 2024/25 he was often compartmentalised into playing as a No 9.
Watkins has been strongly linked with Man Utd. And if this move were to materialise, he’d be more than simply a target man. He’d be tasked with linking play and dropping deep to accommodate for Man Utd’s other two goal-minded forwards — Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.
If Watkins were to stay at Villa, he might enjoy his most prolific season yet in 2025-26. Rashford and Duran are out, while Villa are reportedly working to re-sign Asensio on loan again. If this were to happen, we could see the Premier League’s next potent attacking duo form.