Another stunning Ollie Watkins statistic has just come to light proving that Aston Villa’s pursuit of Joao Felix is unneeded.
Despite all of Villa’s signings so far this summer, Unai Emery is still after one man.
Felix, who was once brought for over £100 million is available this summer after an unsuccessful spell at Atletico Madrid.
Emery sees Felix as his ‘dream signing’ and the Portuguese international could provide great competition for star man Watkins.
Jhon Duran looks likely to leave for West Ham meaning that a new back-up striker may well be needed.
However, one big statistic surrounding Watkins has just emerged proving that Villa’s pursuit of Felix is unnecessary.
Ollie Watkins rarely misses a game for Aston Villa
It is clear that Watkins is Villa’s main man. The English international netted 27 times in all competitions last season before taking his form into Euro 2024.
Now, the striker is easily one of the most in-form players in the world and is undroppable in Emery’s side.
According to Aston Villa Stato, on top of his amazing goalscoring record, Watkins excels in something just as important – availability.
Over the past four seasons, the striker has only missed six Premier League matches. It is an incredible statistic showing that it is extremely rare for Watkins to ever be injured or suspended.
However, this also shows how little Villa need a high-quality backup striker. Felix would reportedly cost around £50 million plus a likely heavy wage package on top of this.
With Watkins rarely out of action, it is hard to justify such a cost for an inconsistent attacker in a position that isn’t needed.
Villa already has Cameron Archer as well as Duran for the time being who can both serve as deputies for the upcoming campaign.
Aston Villa must target a new centre-back
With only two weeks before the start of the Premier League campaign, Villa only have three fit centre-backs.
The club are yet to replace the outgoing Clement Lenglet with Tyrone Mings remaining on the sidelines for the time being.
How fragile the Birmingham outfit are at the back was on full display against Red Bull Leipzig as Diego Carlos’ red card forced Amadou Onana to be deployed as a centre-back.
If Villa are to splash the cash again this transfer window they should pursue a new defender over Felix to prevent a potential catastrophe.
