Gabriel Agbonlahor says ‘great’ Watkins ‘feeds off confidence’

Ollie Watkins scored in Aston Villa’s 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion to end a six-game goal drought in the Premier League, but it masks what has been a disappointing season for the 26-year-old.

Watkins scored 14 goals with five assists from 37 league games last season (one goal contribution per 1.94 games) but only has six goals and one assist from 22 league outings this campaign (one goal contribution per 3.14 games).

The England international, who boasts one goal in five games for his country, has come under criticism for his form, but Gabriel Agbonlahor defended Watkins and believes the fans need to get on his side to boost his confidence.

He told Football Insider: “Sometimes you go through spells without scoring, you go through spells without getting chances. It happens in football, especially in the Premier League, it’s the toughest league to score goals in.

“Fans should try sticking by Watkins. They forget what he’s done for the club. Already he’s got 20 goals in two seasons. He’s a great striker and you can tell he feeds off confidence. He needs confidence, not fans getting on his back.”

Watkins scored just one goal from his first seven league appearances this season. And although he bagged five times and grabbed one assist in the 11 games that followed the drought, he went cold after that and didn’t score his first goal of 2022 until the final days of February.

Watkins’ drought had an adverse effect on results too, with Villa scoring one or less goals in four of their last seven, so fans will be hoping his goal against Brighton is a return to form.

In other news, Kevin Campbell predicts Ezri Konsa could leave Aston Villa