Ollie Watkins comparable to Erling Haaland among Premier League elite in 2023

Amid the chaotic crash of limbs in Newcastle’s penalty area, one player stood completely still.

Ollie Watkins had just tucked the ball under Nick Pope’s flailing boot for his second – and Aston Villa’s third – goal of the afternoon. By now, goals for Watkins are so common he can contain the immediate burst of joy for a beat.

Since the turn of the year, Watkins has scored a league-high 11 Premier League goals, all arriving in his previous 12 top-flight appearances. Only one other player can match Villa’s royally in-form forward.

Unlike many prolific scorers, Erling Haaland likes to vary his goal celebration. Yet, one of the defining poses pulled by the ruthlessly prolific Norwegian sees him knot his long limbs into a cross-legged seat, touching his thumbs to his middle fingers to mimic a state of meditation. Manchester City’s scoring zen master is the only player that can keep pace with the 2023 iteration of Watkins.

Watkins also created Villa’s opener, sneaking between Kieran Trippier and Fabian Schar to nod John McGinn’s cross down for Jacob Ramsey to thump in, ensuring that not even Haaland has been directly involved in as many goals as Watkins this calendar year (14).

The Newton Abbot-born forward employed a specialised finishing coach during the summer but only stumbled upon this vibrant purple patch once Unai Emery took charge in November.

In a bid to explain the remarkable uptick – Watkins managed nine Premier League goals in 34 appearances across the entirety of 2022 – the 25-year-old credited a renewed efficiency in movement as well as his finishing.

“I think I’m being patient and timing my runs better, being a lot smarter,” he told the BBC after Villa’s victory against Newcastle. “I’m not running into channels, I’m not battling with the centre-backs really too much. My strengths are running in behind and the manager’s told all the boys: ‘When you get the ball here, look for Ollie.’ That’s what we’re doing and it’s working nicely.” Very nicely indeed.

Operating within the width of the penalty area and endlessly darting behind the opposition back line is the route to goal Haaland most often takes as well.

Emery, never one to overstate his influence on players, aslo highlighted Watkins’ work off the ball. “He is adding a lot of things and I think he has always scored but he is now understanding a little bit more to understand how he can attack the spaces, when he has to drop to get the ball and set the ball,” the former Arsenal boss explained.

England manager Gareth Southgate was watching on from the stands of a stadium he graced many times throughout his playing career. Watkins was a surprise absentee from the previous England squad in March but is making a compelling argument to be included in the upcoming European Championship qualifiers in June, with ambitions of adding to his tally of two goals in seven caps.

However, there is still plenty of club football left to play before Watkins can pull on the famous three lions again. And there will only be one thing dominating his every thought for the remainder of the campaign.

“I want to score every week,” Watkins declared earlier this month. “I want to get to 20 goals and then more. I know I can be more clinical.” Yet, when Haaland is the benchmark you are matching, there isn’t an awful lot of room for improvement.

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