Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright has revealed that Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins needs to make certain changes to his game.
The 28-year-old Aston Villa striker has scored 18 goals in the Premier League this season and he managed to find the back of the net twice against Brentford yesterday.
Despite scoring two goals in the game, Wright revealed on BBC Match of the Day that Watkins needs to stay more central and allow his teammates to get involved in the buildup play. The England international tends to drop down and involve himself in the buildup play too often. That has left Aston Villa short of options upfront at times.
Wright believes that Aston Villa have quality creators at their disposal and Watkins should look to stay in the central zones near the box and capitalise on the chances created.
“I think he’s got enough quality around him, but he has to do more with those aspects of the game, holding up and linking but stay in the middle because he is dangerous there.”
Watkins has always been a complete forward and Wright probably expects him to operate more as a poacher or a target man. It will be interesting to see if Watkins is willing to modify his game in the coming months.
Ollie Watkins has been in fine form
He has established himself as one of the best strikers in the league and he will be hoping to help Aston Villa finish the season strongly. They are currently fourth in the league table and it remains to be seen whether the West Midlands club can secure Champions League qualification.
If they want to finish in the top four, they cannot afford to continue dropping points at the stage of the season. They have been quite inconsistent in recent weeks and Tottenham are currently breathing down there necks.
Villa will have to put together a winning run if they want to finish the season with European football.