Why Southampton should go for Brentford forward Ollie Watkins
Back in January 2019, the Sky Sports had claimed that Southampton were interested in signing Brentford forward Ollie Watkins. However, no deal materialised and he has since stayed put at Griffin Park.
Ollie Watkins, 24, has been one of the driving forces behind Brentford’s challenge for promotion from the Championship this season, hitting 22 goals in 37 appearances. He has also chipped in with three assists, building a formidable partnership with Said Benrahma and Bryan Mbeumo in Brentford’s attack.
With Watkins enjoying another fantastic season in the Championship with the Bees, Southampton must definitely rekindle their interest in him when the transfer window reopens.
Southampton have struggled in the new Premier League season and currently lie 14th in the table. Neither have they looked defensively solid nor have they shown attacking verve. They have struggled to score goals, netting only 35 goals in 29 games.
Danny Ings has been the Saints’ top scorer this season with 15 goals in the league. He has single-handedly shouldered the responsibility of supplying goals for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side. Without the Englishman’s contributions, Southampton would’ve been battling relegation, to say the least.
The sea coast side did sign a couple of forwards last summer in a bid to bolster the attack. Che Adams arrived from Birmingham City amidst a lot of fanfare but hasn’t scored a goal in 22 Premier League outings. Moussa Djenepo has endured an injury-hit debut campaign at St. Mary’s, while Shane Long has netted just twice in 19 league games.
To put things into perspective, Southampton lack a prolific goalscorer to complement Ings up front and Hasenhuttl must make it a top priority to sign one in the summer. To that end, he must go for Ollie Watkins.
Since arriving at Brentford from Exeter City in 2017, Watkins has been a star performer at Griffin Park. The Englishman netted 10 goals and provided four assists in the 2017-18 season and found the back of the net 10 times and supplied 8 assists last season.
He has enhanced his reputation further with 22 goals and three assists this season, establishing himself as one of the exciting players in the Championship in the process.
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Watkins can play anywhere across the front-line but has excelled in the No.9 role under Thomas Frank this season. He has a decent amount of experience in Championship football and would add some much-needed spark as well as depth to Southampton’s attack. All in all, the 24-year-old could be an ideal player to complement Ings up front next term.
Verdict
Watkins offers a blend of youth and experience, someone who’ll be a good fit under Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl. He is only going to get better with age and experience. Having proven himself in the Championship, the Saints must do everything possible to sign the 24-year-old from Brentford this summer.
