Darren Bent has lauded the efforts of Ollie Watkins after he added to his goals tally during Aston Villa’s 3-2 win over Luton Town on Saturday.
Given that Unai Emery watched his team concede more abject goals after taking the lead, then that brace from the man in form proved to be very crucial.
Ollie Watkins is performing as well as anyone in the Premier League right now and he is even getting plaudits from one Thierry Henry.
As Aston Villa push for an all-important Champions League spot, he has 16 goals and 10 assists to his name, which Darren Bent described as ‘crazy’, as he told talkSPORT.
But the former striker added that Ollie Watkins just seems to be getting ‘better and better’ after his previous struggles under Steven Gerrard.
To think that the former Liverpool player couldn’t get a tune out of a player that thrived under Dean Smith and has now gone to even higher heights under Unai Emery is even more remarkable.
That’s why Darren Bent was keen to state that, as of this moment, the England international would be his Player of the Year.
Ollie Watkins improvement
“He will certainly be mine,” said Bent. “He has been outstanding, Olle Watkins.
“The goals that he has got this season and the assists as well. How dangerous he looks. He seems to be getting better and better. 16 league goals and 10 assists is crazy.
“Villa are pushing top-four as well. They are in the top four as we speak. He will be my Player of the Year.”
Ollie Watkins to start v Ajax
During the group stages, he didn’t play or start as much, with his only starts coming against AZ Alkmaar.
But you would suspect that he starts in Amsterdam in what is a huge first-leg fixture against Dutch giants, Ajax.
With the Tottenham game around the corner, it’s paramount that we make this week a success because it can have a big bearing on the rest of the season.
Ideally, you want to finish off a struggling Ajax team before we get to Villa Park because that will then allow Emery to rotate.
