Michael Owen has made a comparison between Aston Villa’s in-form striker Ollie Watkins and Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez.
The former England striker thinks there are two players in the Premier League who have ‘so much more ability than they show’ and he thinks Ollie Watkins and Darwin Nunez are those players, as he told Premier League Productions (23/10/23 at 11 pm).
On Sunday, Aston Villa thrashed West Ham United 4-1, with Ollie Watkins scoring a crucial third goal for his side, as well as supplying the assist for his side’s opening goal – Owen Hargreaves compared Watkins to Tottenham’s Son Heung-min.
The reason why Michael Owen made the comparison between Ollie Watkins and Liverpool’s all-action forward is that he feels the duo can ‘explode into being one of the very best in the Premier League’.
And, in the case of Ollie Watkins, he feels that is happening, with the 27-year-old on five goals and five assists this term (transfermarkt).
To put that into context, no one in Europe’s top five leagues has five+ goals and five+ assists to their name, so it’s some going from Villa’s main man.
In comparison, Darwin Nunez has three goals and three assists from his eight Premier League matches (transfermarkt), which is impressive for a player who doesn’t start on a regular basis.
Ollie Watkins and Darwin Nunez
“I always thought he has had it in him,” said Owen about Watkins. “I have said for a long time. I think there are two players in the Premier League that have so much more ability than they actually show.
“Ollie Watkins being one. I think Darwin Nunez at Liverpool is the other one.
“Both of those players, a year or so ago, I thought they could explode into being one of the very best in the Premier League.
“I think this fella (Watkins) now is making huge strides to becoming that type of player.”
Can Watkins and Nunez hit 20+ Premier League goals?
You feel the potential is there for the duo to hit those numbers and showcase that they can be one of the top players in the Premier League.
In truth, for Watkins, he is already singing and dancing near the top end of players in the Premier League, with Unai Emery’s side sitting fifth in the Premier League table.
As for Nunez, he is showing signs of improvement, becoming clinical, as he proved at St James’ Park this season and a player that still has a few more levels to hit.
You could argue that if Nunez was the main man and focal point, like Watkins is at Villa Park, then he would be hitting the big numbers too and producing those top performances on a regular basis.
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