2019 saw Crystal Palace make an attempt to acquire Ollie Watkins, but Brentford turned down their $11 million offer.
Since then, Watkins has developed into one of the Premier League’s top strikers, flourishing at Aston Villa.
Palace appears to have made a mistake by missing out on Watkins since they have long needed a reliable goal-scorer up front.
Crystal Palace is renowned for its capacity to support and foster youth, whether through a first-rate academy system or by snatching up young talent outside of south London.
The most active of their academy graduates, Wilfried Zaha made 458 appearances for the Eagles throughout his 18-year tenure with the team.
The gifted Eberechi Eze has already taken on that role as he seeks to surpass the history that the former made as the Ivorian says goodbye to his Palace origins this summer after leaving behind a lasting legacy. This opens the door for the next generation of young people to become the “new Zaha.”
Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, an academy product who has already made two appearances in the Premier League this season, is aiming to achieve comparable success to the Englishman, who is lighting the touch paper with his stunning exploits.
Palace has a reputation for selecting the best players in the Championship and attracting them to Selhurst Park. They used this tactic to get Michael Olise from Reading in 2021 and Eze from Queens Park Rangers in 2020, but were unsuccessful in their attempt to sign Ollie Watkins.
Did Ollie Watkins almost sign with Crystal Palace?
As Bryan Mbeumo, Said Benrahma, and Watkins were all linked with moves away that summer, a number of Premier League clubs were focusing on Brentford’s lethal front three as they sought promotion out of the second division in 2019.
Several teams were reportedly interested in signing Watkins, 23, but Palace signaled their interest by making a proposal of £11 million for the forward, which the Bees promptly rejected.
With the money from the sale of Aaron Wan-Bissaka at the time, Roy Hodgson was looking for a potent finisher. Now that Watkins has contributed to 21 goals in 45 games across all competitions in the 2018–19 season, it is easy to understand why the seasoned manager was eager to entice Watkins to Selhurst Park.
Despite their efforts to capture the 5 foot 11 goal scorer, who Thomas Frank called “a pleasure to work with,” Watkins went on to score 25 Championship goals before joining Aston Villa for a club record £28 million in the summer of 2020.
What is the status of Watkins at Aston Villa?
The 27-year-old has made a name for himself as one of the top attackers in the Premier League during his time in the Midlands, leading Villa’s ascent up the league with a combination of his quick footwork, quickness in behind, and lethal finishing in the area.
Watkin was a key player before Unai Emery took over in November, but the Spaniard helped the Englishman take his game to new heights as he scored 12 goals in his final 19 games of the season to help the Villans reach Europe for the first time since 2010.
When compared to his positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues, the “unstoppable” talent, as dubbed by Jamie Carragher, has gone toe-to-toe with the most elite strikers in 2023 for his scoring prowess, ranking in the top 20% for non-penalty xG, top 8% for the percentage of shots on target, and top 15% for non-penalty xG per shot, according to FBref.
The high-volume shooter has significantly improved since Emery took over, and while this shows his unmistakable effectiveness in front of goal, the Spaniard has lauded Watkins for his quick development as well as the rest of his team for maximizing his abilities.
We’re trying to help Ollie, support him, help him get better, and help him gain confidence, he said. We put in a lot of offensive and defensive drill, but we also need to strike a balance.
“Some players, such as Ollie Watkins, may be handling it better than others. He practices a lot and works very, very hard every day to get better.He is a fantastic example for everyone and has ambition.
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