The former Brentford forward has been relegated to the bench in recent weeks due to the red-hot form of Jhon Duran – but is set to start against Brighton on Monday
Lee Hendrie has thrown down the gauntlet to Ollie Watkins to prove he’s Aston Villa’s No.1 striker.
The England forward has been forced to play a bit-part role in Villa’s last three outings, with Jhon Duran preferred in attack after a blistering run of form in front of goal. However, the Colombian, 21, is due to miss Monday night’s clash with Brighton after receiving a straight red card in the Boxing Day defeat to Newcastle.
Watkins will fill the void in attack and former Villa favourite Hendrie has challenged the 28-year-old to show boss Unai Emery what he’s been missing.
He said: “It’s a great problem for Emery to have in terms of his strikers. You want that competition in your squad, and you want players fighting over the shirt. It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the season. With what Jhon Duran has produced, it’s [been] impossible to leave him out.
“Watkins and Duran are both very different players, Duran is a very physical player. He’s quite raw and has that element of surprise. Sometimes you don’t know what you’re going to get from him. He is a more instinctive player. You know what Ollie Watkins wants to do, he wants to spin, he wants to play on the defender’s shoulders. He can create his own chances. Ollie’s game is a little bit more well-rounded than Duran’s. He also contributes in terms of assists.”
Villa have taken the Champions League by storm this season and are in a great position to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition. However, Emery’s men have struggled to replicate the same form in the Premier League after last campaign’s fourth-place finish.
Hendrie added: “Champions League football is what all the fans have been dreaming of for years, the football club’s been waiting for it for quite some time. They’ve produced some fantastic results in Europe against some world-class teams, and everyone has got very excited because the Champions League is the pinnacle for most Premier League sides – everyone wants to be involved in Champions League football.
“They’ve thrown everything at the Champions League, and I think they’ve had a different mentality for those games, not just the players but the entire football club. The problem has been following those matches, there’s been a bit of a hangover. Domestic football just isn’t as exciting, and they need to address that quickly.
“I think it’s understandable that your domestic form can suffer when you’re playing in the Champions League and it’s new, we saw Newcastle struggle with getting the balance right last season, but finding the balance is what the top teams do. It’s a learning curve, and hopefully they will get there and show those consistency levels.
“Without sounding disrespectful, you’ve got to be as up for games in the Premier League against the likes of Nottingham Forest and Southampton, you’ve got to beat those teams after playing in Europe if you want to be a top, top team like Liverpool or Arsenal.”
Lee Hendrie was speaking on behalf of 10bet.
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