Ollie Watkins could get even more out of Jack Grealish at Aston Villa – TBR View

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Aston Villa star Jack Grealish is one of the most talked about players in the Premier League it seems, whether that be for the right or wrong reasons and among his own supporters or others.

The now England man was Villa’s best player last season and a key reason behind the club managing to just cling onto their top-flight place following an improved spell of form post-lockdown.

Villa have since backed manager Dean Smith once again. The signing of Matty Cash should provide some impetus down the right flank, while today’s big-money signing of Ollie Watkins will, hopefully, bring more goals.

And for Grealish, from an individual point of view, he’ll be hoping that Watkins is the man to devour the chances, too. Indeed, 26 goals last season would suggest that the 24-year-old can be the striker Grealish needs in front of him.

Chances not a problem, Watkins can help Grealish look even better

Everyone who watches Premier League football can see that Grealish is Villa’s best and most creative player. He oozes class and the fact he’s been left out of the England scene for so long is a bit of a mystery.

However, he’s now in there and this season, with Watkins as his striker, he can build on his impressive stats last season and show Gareth Southgate that he is indeed the man for the occasion.

Barring Kevin De Bruyne, no player created more chances than Grealish last season, according to stats from Squawka. The Villa ace created an impressive 91 chances, more than stars like Trent Alexander-Arnold, James Maddison, and Willian.

The problem was that Villa only managed 41 goals. To put that in perspective, City scored 102, while Liverpool scored 85. Obviously, those two teams are a world away from Villa but it’s an interesting comparison, given ‘TAA’ and ‘KDB’ are top of that same list with Grealish.

Looking up to mid-table areas, Everton hit 44, Southampton 51, and up in 8th, Arsenal hit 56.

So, while those might seem like small margins, the difference in points could be massive. If Watkins can, for example, stick away six or seven of Grealish’s chances, then Villa will find themselves comfortably away from danger this term.