Since Unai Emery took charge of Aston Villa back in October 2022, their fortunes have completely transformed. Under managers before him, including Dean Smith and Steven Gerrard, the Villans were a side threatened by relegation, fighting for their place in the Premier League year after year.
Nowadays, however, Emery has the Midlands club playing good football which has gotten them incredible results. They are in the Champions League this season, and whilst their form in the league has been patchy, there is no doubting the improvement since the Spaniard took charge.
Naturally, with the team as a unit improving, individuals have too. Ollie Watkins is perhaps the best example of this.
Watkins’ Villa career
It has been an impressive few seasons in Claret and Blue for Watkins. The England international, who scored the winner in the Euro 2024 semi-final, has been fantastic under Emery since he took charge of the club.
The 28-year-old striker is now just two goals shy of 50 under the Spaniard, and recently brought up 100 appearances playing for him, too. In total, Watkins has scored 48 goals and has 22 assists in 101 games under the tutelage of Emery.
His overall record for Villa is superb, too. He has 77 goals and 31 assists in 191 appearances in Claret and Blue. This term, he has seven goals and five assists in 22 games across competitions, although is still waiting for his first Champions League strike.
Perhaps the striker’s best season in Claret and Blue so far came in the 2023/24 campaign. He scored 27 goals and grabbed 13 assists in 53 games in all competitions.
Watkins’ 32 Premier League goals and assists were bettered last season by just one man, Cole Palmer. He also won the playmaker award for the most Premier League assists.
It might not be a surprise to learn his value has skyrocketed since his electric form under Emery. As per Transfermarkt, the striker is now worth £45.3m, a testament to his hard work. That is also far more than one former Villa star, Jack Grealish.
Grealish’s value in December 2024
Once a man who was sold for £100m, a then British record fee, the playmaker’s stock has somewhat sunk since then. His sale to Manchester City was one that hit Villa hard; not because of the money of course, but because they lost a fantastic player.
For years at Villa Park, everything good came through the England international. His record with the Villans is impressive, with 32 goals and 41 assists in 213 games.
He was influential in helping his boyhood club get promoted and then surviving in the Premier League in the years that followed.
Perhaps Grealish’s best campaign in that famous Claret and Blue shirt of Villa came in his last campaign, in 2020/21. He played 24 Premier League games that season, scoring six goals and grabbing ten assists.
According to Sofascore, he was statistically fantastic, creating 14 big chances and averaging 3.2 key passes per game.
Stat
Number
Games
26
Goals
6
Assists
10
Big chances created
14
Key passes per game
3.2
Dribbles completed per game
2.5
Ground duels won per game
7.9
Thus, it might not be a surprise that when the Birmingham-born attacker departed Villa Park for pastures anew in Manchester in 2021, it was a sad time for the club. Former chief executive of Villa, Christian Purslow, revealed just what an “emotional moment” it was for him when their former number ten left:
“It was a highly emotional moment when Jack finally told me his decision, leaving me in no doubt how hard it had been for him to decide to leave.”
Since moving to the Etihad Stadium, it has not been an easy ride for the 29-year-old. Although he has won countless silverware, including a treble in 2022/23, the Grealish who thrived at Villa has not been himself for City.
He has just 14 goals and 20 assists in 142 games in all competitions for Pep Guardiola’s side, while now going a year without scoring across all fronts.
Overall, selling him when they did for the price they did, seems a fantastic deal when looking back, not least due to the fact that he is now valued at an even lower price than Watkins, at just £37m, according to Transfermarkt.
Even with the former Villans ace struggling to live up to his price tag in Manchester, Villa fans may well look back on his time at the club with fondness.
Market Movers
Football FanCast's Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club's star player or biggest flop worth today?
Nowadays, stars like Watkins have taken up Grealish’s mantle in Claret and Blue, but perhaps they would not be where they are today without the contributions of their great academy product.
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