Aston Villa have been compelled to rely closely on Ollie Watkins because the begin of final season because the Englishman solely has Jhon Duran for competitors.
It hasn’t precisely hampered his performances, because the Englishman scored 27 occasions final time period, which steered Villa to a top-four end within the Premier League, thus qualifying for the Champions League.
Duran has stepped up this season regardless of the continued curiosity proven in him in the course of the summer season switch window, because the Colombian has netted twice in simply three league matches to this point.
Whereas the 20-year-old is probably a participant to construct round for the long run, may Unai Emery have one other Watkins brewing within the academy?
Why Rory Wilson may very well be Ollie Watkins 2.0
The 18-year-old striker has definitely impressed since shifting to Villa from Rangers again in the summertime of 2022.
In The Pipeline
Soccer FanCast’s Within the Pipeline sequence uncovers the perfect wonderkids in world soccer. Each membership desires of getting the following Mbappe of their academy, do not they?
The Scot scored a exceptional tally of 49 objectives in the course of the 2021/22 marketing campaign for the Gers youth groups, which naturally led to curiosity from down south.
James Grady, a Scotland youth coach, even described Wilson as being “obsessive about changing into the perfect” and it was maybe no shock that Steven Gerrard introduced Wilson right down to the Midlands forward of his first full season in cost.
Since then, the teen has exuded related qualities to that of Watkins, discovering the web regularly by showcasing his unimaginable ending expertise.
Through the U18 Premier League marketing campaign, Wilson scored 16 objectives in simply 13 appearances, earlier than making the transfer as much as the Premier League 2, discovering the again of the web thrice in 13 video games.
He has kickstarted the present marketing campaign off with a aim already. May he stake a declare for a primary group berth within the coming months? Particularly with video games coming thick and quick for Emery.
Why Wilson may very well be Villa’s largest expertise since Jack Grealish
Not since Jack Grealish made his breakthrough at Villa practically ten years in the past has there arguably been a lot hype over a single youth participant, with {the teenager} presently attracting curiosity from the likes of Inter Milan and RB Leipzig.
The present Manchester Metropolis gem remodeled 200 appearances for the Midlands aspect earlier than becoming a member of Metropolis for £100m in 2021, with the transfer turning out to be a surprising piece of enterprise performed by the membership.
Jack Grealish’s Aston Villa statistics
Season
Video games
Objectives
Assists
2020/21
27
7
10
2019/20
41
10
8
2018/19
35
6
8
2017/18
34
3
8
2016/17
34
5
5
2015/16
21
1
1
2014/15
24
0
3
Through Transfermarkt
It is secure to say Grealish hasn’t fairly had the perfect of occasions below Pep Guardiola, scoring simply 14 occasions for the membership and there was even some speak concerning him shifting again to his boyhood membership in the course of the summer season.
Regardless of solely being 18, Wilson has made a few appearances for the Scotland U21 aspect, clearly demonstrating how forward of the curve he’s. If the younger expertise continues to attain for enjoyable for Villa’s personal U21 outfit, Emery certainly can not ignore him for for much longer.
Certainly, with Watkins and Duran the one senior centre-forwards within the first-team squad, an harm to both may probably see the Scot given an unlikely alternative.
Ought to this occur, Wilson has the power to make an impression for the primary group, with out a shadow of a doubt, with the hope that he can comply with in Grealish’s footsteps earlier than him.
