Ollie Watkins makes his feelings clear about Danny Ings’ transfer from Aston Villa
Ollie Watkins, a forward for Aston Villa, says it’s “a tragedy” that Danny Ings has left the club. The attacker moved teams midway through the season, joining Premier League rivals West Ham United.
On Friday, the Hammers gave the Villans an initial £12 million for Ings, with the possibility of paying a further £7 million in add-ons. He only stayed with the Birmingham club for 18 months before signing a two-and-a-half-year deal with the east London club. In 2021, Aston Villa will pay Southampton up to £30 million after initially paying them $25 million.
After failing to displace Watkins as Aston Villa’s starting striker under Unai Emery, Ings decided to leave the claret and blue for a team that would give him a better chance at starting. One of his six Premier League appearances under the Spaniard was a start. Although the 30-year-old scored three times in 188 minutes of play.
Watkins played in five Premier League games under Emery, scoring once and assisting on two others, while Ings stayed in Birmingham. The 27-year-old scored the game-winning goal in Saturday’s 1-0 victory against Southampton, giving him two goals during the Spaniard’s term.
Against Everton on Saturday, Ings made his West Ham debut off the bench. It was in the 72nd minute when David Moyes substituted the striker for Michail Antonio, with his side already holding a 2-0 lead. Both of Jarrod Bowen’s goals in the first half (at the 34 and 41-minute marks) proved to be the game-winner.
The 1-0 victory by Aston Villa against Southampton kept the Saints in last place with 15 points. Everton has the same 15 points from 20 games as Chelsea, but a better goal differential. Although they lost against West Ham, Everton still has a better goal differential than the Saints (minus 13 to minus 18).
The Irons are currently in 15th position with 18 points, while the Villans are in 11th with 28 points. Moyes is hoping that West Ham’s purchase of Ings from Aston Villa would help his team escape the relegation zone and close the distance to Emery’s team.
Watkins expresses some remorse that Emery allowed Ings to leave Aston Villa for West Ham. Now that he has been given the chance to lead the Birmingham club, the striker is making the most of it.
“There’s always pressure when you’re playing for a massive club like Villa,” Watkins said, via quotes by BBC Sport. “It’s a shame but I’m willing to take the responsibility and be the main striker. I’m relishing it,” he added.
