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Aston Villa’s signing of Ollie Watkins could be make or break for Dean Smith – TBR View
Aston Villa completed their biggest signing of the summer today, as Ollie Watkins joined from Brentford in a club-record deal worth around £28m, potentially rising to £33m.
The deal, confirmed by the , smashes the club record once again and is another sign of the club’s owners being willing to back Dean Smith in the transfer market.
On paper, Watkins looks a shrewd signing despite the price. He smashed in 26 goals last season for Brentford and at just 24, Watkins should develop and enjoy the prime years of his career with Villa.
However, it also brings an element of risk to the table and there is little doubt that, deep down, Dean Smith will be hoping this pays off and in a big way.
£28m for a striker is a lot of money and, coupled with the £16m signing of Matty Cash, it’s another big outlay from the Villa board.
They will, then, be expecting results on the field and for their new signings to hit the ground running, unlike those from last summer.
Wesley was a disaster, Watkins needs to do the business for Smith’s sake
To say last summer’s signings were a mixed bag of results would be an understatement. Big money was spent as Smith was backed to the tune of over £100m, with players like Wesley, Ezri Konsa, and Tyrone Mings all arriving on permanent, big-money deals.
On the good side of things, Mings, Douglas Luiz, and Anwar El Ghazi have all done pretty well for the club.
But on the flip side of that, the likes of Wesley, Trezeguet, and Mbwana Samatta have all had indifferent spells with the club to say the least.
It’s imperative, then, that Ollie Watkins gets going and gets going quick. As much as Smith is liked at Villa Park and has the backing of his board, if he endures another opening six months to the season as he did last year, he could be out of a job.
Watkins’ goals will be vital to Villa enjoying success. Lockdown served the club well this year and, in fairness to Villa, they played well following the restart to cement their PL place.
However, they can’t risk a repeat this time around and the club’s fans – and Smith – will be hoping Watkins is the answer.