Dean Smith has hailed Ollie Watkins for taking Aston Villa to a ‘different dimension’ since his big-money move in the summer, as he told AVTV.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to the Villa manager that Watkins has seemingly fitted in like a glove in B6 because he was the one who spotted him as a raw teenager during his days at Exeter.
That path from League Two led him to the ever-progressive Brentford and he now finds himself plying his trade amongst the best.
Smith thinks Villa’s new boy is performing ‘very well’ even though his previous two goals have been ruled out by paper-thin VAR offside calls.
“I said from the start that Ollie would bring us a different dimension in terms of how we press and work without the ball,” said Smith.
“He enables us to defend higher up the pitch. He’s had some goals ruled out that were marginal and he’s playing very well.”
Last season, Villa craved for that striker to be a threat inside the penalty area rather than just having the ability to hold up the ball and use their physical presence to bring others into play.
Well, Villa have found their man in Watkins, whose movement inside the penalty area is a treat for the ball-carrier Jack Grealish and the ever-improving wingers from Anwar El Ghazi to Bertrand Traore.
It’s some machine that Smith is building in the Midlands and every way you look there are signs of improvements.
From individual players taking their game to the next level, the team improving and academy stars coming through.
Anything is possible for this forward-thinking machine that may well end up on a European tour next season.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
