Aston Villa and Unai Emery will look to sign a new centre-forward during the summer transfer window to ease the “pressure” on Ollie Watkins, according to Alan Hutton.
The England international came under some criticism from Troy Deeney following his display against Manchester United, with the former Watford forward suggesting that Watkins had lost his confidence a bit in front of goal in recent matches.
Speaking on Match of the Day 2 (11 February) he said: “Watkins has just missed a chance, he’s screaming for the ball to go to [Moussa] Diaby, but I think his confidence has gone a bit. He ends up just standing there and waiting; it’s a bit disappointing in the end.”
While Hutton has admitted that Watkins’ form in the final third has marginally dropped in recent weeks, he expects the 28-year-old to find his shooting boots once again, suggesting all strikers go through barren spells in front of goal.
“In terms of scoring goals, his form has probably dipped ever so slightly,” Hutton told Villa News.
“But I think that’s what happens with strikers, they go through periods like that where they’re not scoring week in and week out. His bar is so high that you’re expecting him to score these goals.
“He’ll know himself and he doesn’t need any of us to tell him that he had massive opportunities and didn’t take them. I think for Villa in general, they had enough chances to win the game.
“Overall they were better than Manchester United, the difference was they switched off twice and conceded two goals which they’ll be disappointed in.
“There’s a lot of pressure on Watkins there if we’re being honest. He’s the out-and-out striker for them, you’ve got Duran there but there’s not lots of competition.
“It may be something that the manager looks at in the summer, not to replace him but I think it’s about helping him.”
