‘So good’: Ollie Watkins now admits he wants to learn to finish just like £34m Liverpool player

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Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins has admitted to the Athletic that he’s trying to take inspiration from Liverpool star Mohamed Salah’s finishing. 

Salah is recognised as one of the most clinical finishers in the world and has three Premier League Golden Boot awards under his belt.

The 31-year-old got off to a slow start to the season but found his scoring boots once again before the World Cup break.

The £34 million star has already bagged 14 goals in 21 appearances for Liverpool during the current campaign and will have one eye on closing down Erling Haaland’s 15 Premier League goals after the break.

Now, Villa striker Watkins has heaped praise on Salah for his finishing ability and admitted he is trying to take inspiration from him.

Watkins on Salah

Watkins has only found the back of the net on three occasions so far this season and has told the Athletic he wants to be more prolific in-front of the goal.

“I want to be more ruthless and put away more of my chances — then I’ll be talked about more,” he said.

“Leading up to this World Cup I wasn’t talked about as much as I hoped, and that’s fair enough because I didn’t score as many goals as the other forwards.

“But I want my name to be mentioned when these big tournaments are coming up. It’s important to me. I want to be in the conversations, so I’m pushing to get those extra goals.”

The Villa striker then added that he can ‘learn’ from the way Salah and Kylian Mbappe finish their chances.

“I’m trying to be more sensible and selective with my runs rather than being really eager and running everywhere.

“There are a few movements I work on in training and some of those came off in the last game I played against Manchester United when I scored.

“It’s also about having composure. Mo Salah is so good at it. He runs so quickly but he is good at taking an extra touch to compose himself and then finish. Mbappe is the same. He goes from like zero to a hundred, then slows down and is lethal. It’s good to watch and learn.”

Watkins has struggled to become a prolific goalscorer during his time at Villa Park after boasting an impressive record in the Championship.

The 26-year-old has netted 30 times in 93 appearances for the Villains but certainly could have a lot more to his name.

The Englishman may not be a lethal finisher but he certainly makes up for that with his all-round game. Unai Emery will be hoping Watkins can work on his finishing as it seems to be his main weakness at the moment.