Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins is performing a remarkable feat in the Premier League with the striker miles ahead in one particular statistic.
Unai Emery’s side have been fantastic so far this season. After qualifying for Europe for the first time in over a decade in the last campaign, Villa are now competing to try and qualify for the Champions League. Some pundits have even claimed that the club is in the title race.
Many players have been performing excellently to make this possible. Douglas Luiz received widespread praise last weekend after Villa’s 5-0 away to Sheffield United. However, another player that has been outstanding so far this campaign is Watkins.
The striker has already found the net 16 times in all competitions. This has helped him regain a position in the England squad which saw him score the winner against Australia in 2023. Now, another statistic has emerged highlighting how good the 28-year-old has been in this campaign.
Ollie Watkins tops the Premier League in goal-creating actions
Watkins’ goal-scoring form for Villa is clearly something to be admired. He has become one of the club’s most clinical strikers of recent years which has helped propel his side up the table. However, an underrated aspect of Watkins’ game is his creative ability.
According to FBref, the striker leads the Premier League with the most goal-creating actions this season. At the time of writing, this stands at 19, with 0.84 happening every 90 minutes.
This statistic is particularly remarkable given how far ahead the player is of everyone else. Second place contains multiple world-class players such as Mohamed Salah and Bukayo Saka. However, these have only created 14 goal-creating actions putting Watkins five ahead of his nearest competitor.
While this might not be too surprising given that the striker is the joint top assister in the Premier League with 10. It is highly impressive how far away he is from any other player in the division in this area.
Ollie Watkins has transformed at Aston Villa this season
While the striker has always been good at Villa, this season he has become unstoppable. Watkins has already levelled the most goals he has ever scored at Villa since signing for the club in all competitions.
The 28-year-old is now also eyeing Aston Villa’s Premier League goals record after becoming only the third player to reach 50 goals in the league for the club.
With the attacker at the peak of his game, Villa and Emery need to ensure they take advantage of his form. Securing Champions League qualification and lifting the Europa Conference League have to be top of the club’s priorities.
If players such as Watkins continue this impressive vein of form, there is no reason as to why Villa cannot reach their targets by the end of the campaign.
