What Would Ollie Watkins Bring To The Table For Brentford
Having sold Scott Hogan to Aston Villa midway through last season, Brentford finally have their replacement in the shape of former Exeter City striker Ollie Watkins.
The Bees have signed the 21-year-old for an undisclosed fee and have nailed him down to a four-year deal with an option of a further year.
Despite his tender years, Watkins made a total of 78 appearances for Exeter City, scoring 26 times in the process. Even Arsenal and Man United have had the player watched and it seems like the 21-year-old definitely has an extremely bright future in the game.
Watkins netted 16 goals and provided 13 assists in 52 games across all competitions last season, stats which show not only his quality in front of goal but also his longevity. Should he be handled a little easier next season and relied upon less than at Exeter, he will improve a bundle for sure.
He provided a goal or an assist every 149 minutes on average last term which is a stat which he will need to improve upon. But that is expected to come at this stage of his development. You would imagine, at first at least, that Brentford would use the young man a little more sparingly, which is bound to improve his output.
Watkins brings pace, power, goal scoring ability and most of all, huge future potential to the Brentford table and these are all hugely desirable qualities. For the player too, this move looks to be just about perfect. Even aside from Hogan, the club have a great record at bringing players on.
In the past, players such as David Button (Fulham), Andre Gray (Burnley), Alfie Mawson (Barnsley, now Swansea) and Adam Forshaw (Wigan, now Middlesbrough) have all come and gone from Griffin Park and achieved varying levels of success.
It is very easy to envisage Watkins grabbing 12, 15, 18 goals plus this season and next, before playing for a Premier League team. Make no mistake; Watkins will prove to be an excellent acquisition for Brentford and will not regret the move.
Brentford, despite regular player sales, remain ambitious and are a fair outside bet for the play-offs. This is a potential match made in football heaven, with the Torbay boy having swapped one red and white shirt for another. So let’s not be surprised when he turns up in the top division in a year or two’s time.
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