Under Steven Gerrard, Aston Villa fans would never have expected their side to be challenging for the Champions League in the near future.

However, 14 months later, their side is currently sitting fourth in the Premier League, with a record of 15 wins from 24 games.

A lot of this success has come down to the appointment of Unai Emery, who hasn’t just improved the players but changed the entire environment at Villa Park.

During his career, the Spaniard has worked with many top players, including Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, but one that will surely go down as one of his favourites is Ollie Watkins.

What Aston Villa paid for Watkins

Watkins became known as one of the deadliest attackers in the Championship during his time at Brentford, tearing defenders apart as a left-winger during his first two seasons at the club.

The signs of the England international being a proper goal-scorer were already on show, as he netted ten goals on the left before really excelling as a number nine in his final season at the club, netting 25 times in 46 league games.

In the following summer, Dean Smith broke the club’s record transfer fee to sign Watkins, as he moved to Villa Park for £28m, in an attempt to bolster the side's output in the final third.

His start to life at Villa was unbelievable, notably scoring a hat-trick and picking up an assist in the 7-2 battering of Liverpool on just his second home start for the club.

Over the rest of the season, he netted 14 goals and provided five assists, instantly justifying the fee paid for him.

Ollie Watkins’ market value in 2024

Fast forward to today, and Watkins is regarded as one of the finest centre forwards in the Premier League, due to not just his goal-scoring ability but also his consistency, with the number 11 hitting double figures in every season since 2016.

Since the arrival of Emery, the striker has gone to an entirely new level, adding creativity to his game. This season in the Premier League alone, he’s scored 13 goals and set up 12 in 25 games. Journalist Jacob Tanswell gave the perfect description of Watkins, labelling him a “difference-maker,” with his qualities being priceless to Villa.

A report towards the end of October stated that the Villans now value Watkins at a minimum of £75m, which is a 168% increase from what they bought him for in 2020. However, in truth, the fee should be much higher considering he is an England international and a consistent performer in the top flight for a top side.

Season

Value

18/19

£6.9m

19/20

£10m

20/21

£27m

21/22

£30m

22/23

£34m

With Watkins' performances continuing to improve and impress, his future at Villa beyond the summer is unknown, with Arsenal being one team that is reportedly interested in signing the 28-year-old, and if the value trend above is anything to go by, he will continue to become even more valuable by the end of the season.

That said, the only thing on Watkins’ mind will be securing himself a spot on the plane to Germany for the Euros and earning Champions League football for Villa.