MX23RW : Thursday, November 7 22:39:04| >> :120:8941:8941:

Ollie Watkins: 'Dean Smith was key to Aston Villa move'

Ollie Watkins: 'Dean Smith was key to Aston Villa move'
© Aston Villa FC
Villa have splashed out a reported club-record fee for the striker.

Ollie Watkins has outlined the importance of manager Dean Smith in his decision to sign for Aston Vila.

The 24-year-old striker joined Villa from Brentford in what is reported to be a club-record £28million deal that could potentially rise to £33million.

The moves sees Watkins reunited with former Bees boss Smith, who was in charge at Griffin Park when he joined the London club from Exeter in 2017.

Watkins had other options but he said Smith "sold" him the move to Villa.

"I'm delighted, it's a massive club," he told Villa TV. "Dean sold it to me, really. I'm definitely excited to get back working with Dean, I'm really looking forward to it.

"He sold it to me as soon as I met him. I told my agent I really want to get that sorted as soon as I heard they were interested.

"I'm looking forward to working with him and Rich (O'Kelly), they gave me a lot of confidence playing under them at Brentford. Hopefully they can do that again now.

"It's been a long time coming but I'm buzzing it's done now, I can't wait to get going. I cannot wait to wear the famous claret and blue in the Premier League. I want to do something special here and score some goals."

Villa had been looking to bolster their strike force after only securing Premier League survival on the final day of last season.

They had been linked with Callum Wilson prior to his move from Bournemouth to Newcastle earlier this week.

Aston Villa v Liverpool – Carabao Cup – Quarter Final – Villa Park
Aston Villa manager Dean Smith is looking forward to working with Ollie Watkins again (Nick Potts/PA)

Watkins scored 26 goals last season in a campaign that saw Brentford reach the Sky Bet Championship play-off final.

Smith said: "Ollie has developed into one of the most sought-after strikers in the country and we are looking forward to seeing him show his great qualities in an Aston Villa shirt.

"He is a hugely determined character who has both the ability and personality to succeed at the highest level."

ID:413624: cacheID:413624:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:6138:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Ollie Watkins is unveiled by Aston Villa on Wednesday, September 9, 2020
Read Next:
Aston Villa complete club-record deal for Ollie Watkins
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!