Unai Emery has spoken about how incredible Ollie Watkins has been for Aston Villa when asked about whether he’s going to sign a new striker in January.
In their last two Premier League matches, Aston Villa have endured a mini blip having dropped points at home to Sheffield United before surrendering a two-goal lead against Manchester United to lose 3-2.
After a recent drop-off in form, questions have been raised about whether Villa have the squad depth to compete across all fronts.
Unai Emery’s side appeared to be juggling their Europa Conference League and Premier League commitments well, but his side have shown signs of fatigue, particularly in their last two matches.
As such, the Spaniard is looking to bolster his squad to increase competition in every position as he works closely with the club’s recruitment team.
One place where Villa are light is up front, with Jhon Duran the only player available to replace Ollie Watkins or come off the bench in an attempt to change a game.
Although another body in that area wouldn’t go amiss, Emery has revealed how pleased he’s been with the form of Ollie Watkins.
Unai Emery highlights Aston Villa’s transfer stance
With nine strikes and eight assists in 19 appearances this term, Watkins has been in the form of his life.
Only Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah have produced more goal contributions than the Englishman in the Premier League.
Given how impressive he’s been, Emery isn’t desperate to sign a striker as he knows how difficult it is to do business in January.
The Spaniard faces a problem where he knows that he doesn’t want to sign a player just to sit on the bench and is therefore happy to see Duran deputise for Watkins when needed.
Asked if he is looking to add more competition up front next month, Emery explained: “I am very very happy with Ollie Watkins. When I arrived here one year ago his position was in doubt. A lot of people had doubts about Ollie Watkins.
“He was working, working, working and was very demanding with himself. And now he has ended any doubts about him. So we added one young player, Jhon Duran, but of course he needs time.
“We are trying to support and help him. I speak a lot to him because I know it is not easy to add something to improve on Ollie Watkins”.
Should Aston Villa sign a striker?
As Emery revealed, it is difficult to sign a player in this current market who can match the levels of Watkins without paying a ridiculous fee.
It isn’t financially feasible for Villa to splash the cash on a player who could see his game time restricted.
That said, there is no doubt that the Villans need to bolster their forward line in January, especially if they set their sights on winning the Conference League.
This could see Emery move for a cost-efficient addition like Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho – who has been linked – instead of opening the chequebook on someone more expensive.
