The race to be crowned the most creative player in the whole of League Two took a turn on Saturday. Until then, the battle between Salford City’s Elliot Watt, Carlisle United’s Owen Moxon and Barrow’s Ben Whitfield appeared to be a three-horse race.
That was, however, until Watt pulled clear; a hat-trick of assists during the 5-2 thumping of a hitherto in-form Mansfield Town lifting the former Wolverhampton Wanderers youngster clear at the top of the tree.
No one in the division now has more than his 13 across 32 games. That, by the way, is more than Watt managed across his three previous campaigns combined.
Former Wolves youngster Elliot Watt a revelation at Salford City
But it’s not as if the opposition had not been warned. Watt, during his unveiling as a Salford player over the summer – joining from fourth-tier rivals Bradford – highlighted his penchant for defence-splitting passes, his ability to serve up a veritable all-you-can-score buffet of chances from his favoured central role.
“My main qualities are in possession playing as a deep midfielder,” Watt said at the time. “Getting the team playing, and getting the ball into the attacking players. (I like) to go and create chances, and score the goals for us.”
Watt, formerly of Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers and Preston North End, spent four years at Wolves between 2016 and 2020. He made just one first-team appearance in Old Gold; a 2-0 EFL Cup victory over Sheffield Wednesday.
Watt eventually dropped down the divisions in an attempt to kick-start his career in the senior game. But such has been his impact at Salford that, even if Neil Wood’s side miss out on promotion this term, it feels only a matter of time before Watt is climbing up the footballing ladder once again.
Every club needs a player capable of creating something out of nothing. And Watt, capped three times by Scotland at U21 level, is proving himself to be exactly that at Salford as he looks to cement his status as League Two’s most potent assist-creator.
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