Aston Villa fans must have been hoping their team could build on their 2-1 FA Cup victory over Tottenham Hotspur back in the Premier League, especially with relegation candidates Ipswich Town travelling to Villa Park.
Instead, however, another bump in the road presented itself, as the Tractor Boys – despite being reduced to ten men for all of the second half – managed to salvage a point come full-time as Unai Emery’s men couldn’t make their mammoth 25 shots count in the disappointing 1-1 draw.
This will have understandably worried Emery, considering the recently closed transfer window saw the Villans boost their attacking ranks with the likes of Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio entering the fray, whilst there were also some notable missed captures.
Aston Villa's winter spending
Indeed, Rashford has now joined the West Midlands side on an initial loan basis, with a buy option also added into the deal if Villa want to make his stay permanent.
They could well be tempted by this proposition down the line if his Ipswich cameo is anything to go by, with the Manchester United outcast turned flashy Villa loanee managing to hit the woodwork with one of his four second half efforts, alongside also creating two big chances to try and steer his new side to a victory.
It will cost the top-flight side £40m to obtain the former England international’s services for good, which could be seen as a hefty amount of money to splurge, considering his up-and-down form at Old Trafford has resulted in this shock loan switch transpiring.
Rashford could have been joined by Joao Felix if another statement deal got over the line during the final hectic days of the transfer window, with the former £45m buy by Chelsea eventually heading to AC Milan on loan, instead of relocating to Emery’s side.
Whilst lots of cash could have been burned here, it’s fair to say Villa have struck absolute gold when it comes to this top star in attack who has been leading the line with swagger for many years now, with his high value now worth more than both Rashford and Felix.
The "world class" star worth more than Rashford and Felix
Even before all this last-ditch spending took place, Emery still had plenty of top attacking talent he could call upon, with the likes of Morgan Rogers strutting his stuff in claret and blue by amassing ten goal contributions this season in top-flight action.
But, away from the former Manchester City youngster, the main marksman for Villa – Ollie Watkins – still manages to lead by example, having now reached 11 goals in the league this campaign when sparing his team’s blushes versus Ipswich.
Rashford would have been gutted that his free-kick didn’t directly sail in, but would have been happy all the same that Watkins was there to convert the rebound to gift his side a golden equaliser.
In total now, Watkins has an unbelievable tally of 85 strikes next to his name donning a Villa shirt, with 70 of those coming his way in the Premier League when he was once just a promising centre-forward honing his craft in the EFL with Brentford.
Stat
Watkins
Games played
203
Goals scored
82
Assists
35
Top scorer accolade
5x
Original fee
£28m
Value now
£60m
Sourced by Transfermarkt
Looking at the table above, it has certainly been £28m of Villa’s money that has been well spent, with Watkins’ valuation now coming in at above £60m – which is more than both the £40m-rated Rashford and the £45m-rated Felix – amidst late interest in the window from Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.
Villa obviously laughed off the Gunners’ attempts at completing a dramatic swoop, with the “world class” striker – as he has been labelled by journalist Jack Grimse in the past – crucial to Emery’s plans moving forward, regardless of who arrives in through the door down the line.
Emery will just have to hope that Watkins’ continued excellence in front of goal leads to his inconsistent troops rising up the league standings soon, away from a drab mid-table offering.
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