Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler believes Ollie Watkins could be exactly the kind of player Jurgen Klopp is missing up front and can see the striker thriving under the German’s tutelage.
Watkins has taken to Premier League football superbly well since joining Aston Villa from Championship outfit Brentford in a £28million move last summer, notching up 13 goals and four assists in the top flight.
The 25-year-old – who was playing in League Two just four years ago – was rewarded with a call-up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad in March and scored with his first shot on target in the side’s World Cup qualifying victory on San Marino.
Watkins’ meteoric rise has not gone unnoticed among England’s elite clubs and Liverpool are among those being linked, with the champions reportedly on the hunt for an out-and-out centre-forward ahead of the summer transfer window.
Former Liverpool and England star Fowler has not been surprised by the recent rumours and feels Watkins’ work rate could make him an ideal player for Klopp’s ‘gegenpressing’ philosophy on Merseyside.
‘I look at him, and I see a striker who is prepared to learn, prepared to work. In fact, I spotted last year his work rate is incredible, and Dean Smith says he’s the best pressing centre forward in the league,’ he wrote in his Daily Mirror column.
‘To me that’s significant. Because what do the top teams want? A forward who performs a crucial pressing role. Manchester City, Liverpool, United, Chelsea. They all want a striker who performs the press with energy and intelligence, and does more than one job.
‘Of course, they’d like one who scores too, but it’s not just about goalscoring any more. Far from it. Look at Roberto Firmino at Liverpool, look at City without a recognised number nine, and Chelsea sticking with Werner.
‘I’m not trying to sell Watkins – honestly Villa fans! – but he’s taken the step up every time so far, and I can see him doing it again. To the very top level, if he can keep the trajectory of his work rate, attitude and mentality.
‘Interestingly, Jurgen Klopp absolutely sang his praises a few weeks ago, and you can definitely see someone with his pressing ability – and the stats to go with it – doing well under that sort of manager.’
Fowler is confident Watkins’ outstanding debut season in the Premier League makes him a shoo-in for selection ahead of England’s European Championships campaign this summer.
He added: ‘Believe me, clubs like City and Liverpool with their massive analytics departments will have run those stats many times already.
‘Many people said the £28m Villa paid for Watkins was a gamble. Some said it was crazy. It looks neither now, and you wonder if it may just have been a shrewd investment.
‘I think he’ll go to the Euros with England, and I think he’s ready to step up again.’
Watkins scored a memorable hat-trick as Liverpool were thumped 7-2 at Villa Park back in October and Klopp was full of praise for the attacker when the two teams met again last month.
‘They are good, they are really good. Good set-up, made some good signings, like Watkins,’ the Liverpool head coach said ahead of his side’s 2-1 win at Anfield.
‘In my memory a lot of players scored a hat-trick that night. It felt like everybody scored a hat-trick. But I think it was a very good moment for Aston Villa in general.
‘I don’t know exactly about the results before that, but after that they were flying for a while and that gave them a proper confidence boost.
‘As a player, you need these kind of moments. Ollie is a really, really talented striker.
‘Obviously the manager knew him from before and it was a really good signing. The whole Brentford attacking line was exceptional in the Championship season before.
‘So that suits really well, he’s physically strong so he can keep the ball, he can jump high, he is very fast – that’s a good package.
‘Nobody has to remind me how good he is but how we always try to defend strikers, we try to avoid passes into their area. With him, that’s not different than it is to others.’
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