By Aston Villa FC

Ollie Watkins landed at Villa Park this week and Aston Villa’s second signing of the summer arrives with an impressive record following three years with Brentford.

 

No player scored more goals than Watkins in the Championship last season and Villa will be looking for Watkins to build on that stunning 26-goal campaign in the Premier League.

 

Let’s take a look at his career so far, in numbers…

 

A prolific transition

 

Prior to the start of the 2019/20 season, Watkins had primarily been utilised as a wide forward during his spell at Griffin Park, but the transition to a central role last term was stunning.

 

Watkins’ best goalscoring tally of 16 – achieved during his final campaign with Exeter City in League Two – was eclipsed, as he finished as joint-top goalscorer in the Championship with 26 goals.

 

As well as the sheer volume, the variety of goals also catches the eye.

 

Every single one of his 26 came from open play and when you exclude penalties, Watkins scored more league goals than any other player in English football last season.

 

16 were scored from inside the penalty area, eight from inside the six-yard box, with two coming from long-range and as well as being able to score from any distance, Watkins is more than capable with both feet.

 

A record of 10 with his right foot, seven with his left foot and eight with his head illustrates his all-round quality.

 

Consistent improvement

 

Watkins’ first season as a striker was a prolific one, but his productivity improved in each of his three seasons at Griffin Park, including his period out wide.

 

After scoring 16 times in all competitions for Exeter during 2016/17, he contributed with 11 goals and four assists during his first campaign in the second tier in 2017/18, under the management of Dean Smith.

 

He followed that up with 12 goals and six assists a year later, before his record exploded during 2019/20 as Brentford came within one win of the Premier League.

 

Ever-present performer

 

The consistency of Watkins’ goalscoring was helped by his durability throughout 2019/20.

 

He started every single Championship game, as well as all three play-off ties, and he completed the full match in the vast majority of his appearances.

 

Watkins missed just five league games in the previous season, and a single fixture the campaign before that.

 

If he can continue in this vein, Smith will have a striker that he can count on from September through until May.

 

Record under Dean Smith

 

This is the second time that the Villa boss has recruited Watkins, having brought him to Brentford from Exeter in the summer of 2017.

 

During 2017/18 and the first part of 2018/19 – before Smith arrived at Villa Park – Watkins made 60 appearances, featuring for a total of 4,732 minutes.

 

In those games, he racked up 15 goals and eight assists and he will be aiming to add to that when the new season gets underway at Burton Albion in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.