After defeating Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday, Aston Villa has now defeated the league leaders Manchester City by eight points this year.
Unai Emery has Villa playing well, and given the form of some of his players, there’s no reason they can’t contend for a trophy this season.
At the centre of the midfield, Douglas Luiz has been excellent. He has even contributed six goals, and his performance may be essential to Villa winning this year.
fresh signee Although Moussa Diaby has also adapted well to the team, Ollie Watkins has undoubtedly been Emery’s main man.
The stats for Ollie Watkin’s season
The Englishman struggled under Steven Gerrard at the beginning of the previous campaign, but after the Spaniard took over, he finished with 15 league goals, and he has continued to score goals this season.
Over the course of 19 games in all competitions, Watkins has scored 11 goals and demonstrated his altruism by dishing out five assists.
As evidence of how effective he has been this season, the in-form striker leads the team in goals and assists (11), ranks first in shots on target per game (1.3), and ranks third in key passes per game (1.7).
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Since he will be largely responsible for Villa’s success, Emery will be hoping he stays healthy and fit for the whole season.
But if something were to happen to the former Brentford frontman, the Midlands team does have a young player, Rory Wilson, who is excelling at the youth level and has even surpassed Watkins in scoring.
The youth statistics of Rory Wilson
The highly-regarded young player, who worked with Gerrard while playing north of the border, left Scottish team Rangers in July 2022 after an incredible 49-goal season.
Wilson has been described by Scotland U16 coach James Grady as the player who aspires to be “the top goal scorer,” and this goal may help him in the event that he decides to pursue a career in the Premier League.
The Scot scored 15 goals in just 20 games during his first season in England, and he looks set to surpass that total this season.
Even though he has only played in nine U18 Premier League games thus far, he has scored 15 goals, and Emery will undoubtedly be taking notice of his incredible play.
Naturally, there is a huge skill gap when moving from U18 to the elite division, but the 17-year-old already seems at ease, and if he keeps up his scoring, the former Arsenal manager might consider giving him a few cameo roles in the upcoming months.
A lot will depend on Villa’s performance in the upcoming weeks, but Emery may be able to scout a few young players with the hope of giving them a chance to play for the first team because of the positive vibe at the team.
Without a doubt, Wilson is the man to call upon if he wants goals.
