Ollie Watkins

[KentVillan]

He's a good player, definitely worth £18m, happy if we bought him.

We really need a quicker option in that front 3 though. Someone who can nick a goal against the run of play on the counter. Did we score a single counter attack goal this season?

[M_Afro]

1 minute ago, Stevo985 said:

Has anyone actually seen Edouard play?

Seems to be a lot of people recommending him but I bet most of us haven't watched 90 mins of him

I have seen him a few times. He looks the real deal to be fair. He is big, strong and fast. He has good feet and he knows where the back of the net is. I would be really excited if we signed him.

[mykeyb]

He is worth more than £18 million now. In 12 months time he will be worth double that

Edited August 5, 2020 by mykeyb

[sidcow]

7 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

 

He wasn't playing as a striker before this season

[TrentVilla]

3 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

Has anyone actually seen Edouard play?

Seems to be a lot of people recommending him but I bet most of us haven't watched 90 mins of him

I’ve seen him once in person and in a few TV games, I think he is good but I just think it’s so hard to judge on domestic Scottish games. I think you need to look at international/European performances if possible.

There are gems to be found in Scottish football but strikers for Rangers and Celtic make me nervous because everything is loaded in their favour.

[LondonLax]

I was interested in signing him but I’d had in my mind that he was quite young. He’s a year older than Wesley and almost 25 which takes a bit of the shine off. Not really a prospect anymore and needs to be able to make the step up in grade. Hopefully we get it done and he works out well. 

[sharkyvilla]

13 minutes ago, TrentVilla said:

 

I have reservations about Watkins but at £18m it isn't a lot of money for a striker these days.

I also figure that Smith knows him very well, so if he wants him that gives a degree of conifidence.

That's how I see it too, Dean must know what he wants and needs and thinks Watkins has it. His judgment on Konsa has seemed pretty spot on to me. I'd probably much rather that kind of signing than a bit of stab in the dark. 

[TrentVilla]

2 minutes ago, sharkyvilla said:

That's how I see it too, Dean must know what he wants and needs and thinks Watkins has it. His judgment on Konsa has seemed pretty spot on to me. I'd probably much rather that kind of signing than a bit of stab in the dark. 

Yes that is also a factor in my thinking too

[AntrimBlack]

5 minutes ago, LondonLax said:

I was interested in signing him but I’d had in my mind that he was quite young. He’s a year older than Wesley and almost 25 which takes a bit of the shine off. Not really a prospect anymore and needs to be able to make the step up in grade. Hopefully we get it done and he works out well. 

So 24 then?

[SeanVilla]

2 minutes ago, TrentVilla said:

I’ve seen him once in person and in a few TV games, I think he is good but I just think it’s so hard to judge on domestic Scottish games. I think you need to look at international/European performances if possible.

There are gems to be found in Scottish football but strikers for Rangers and Celtic make me nervous because everything is loaded in their favour.

He has 6G 5A in 11 games exclusively in Europe last season (Qualifying and Group Stages). So a goal or an assist per game. Watkins has 26G 3A in 46 games in the championship. It's hard to blame Edouard's huge goal/assist output on being in the SPL as he's doing it in Europe also, which is a better standard than Championship.

[OLDVILLAIN]

Its clear we need 2 new strikers...If watkins at 18m is the cheaper option of the two we need, than i trust smith's judgement.

People crying all season saying that "but such and such a player was not smiths signing it was suso" now watkins if it happens will be smiths signing..let the judgements begin

 

[Rob182]

The thing I like about Watkins is that he covers all the front 3 positions. I’d like us to sign him as well as 1 more striker and 2 more wingers, giving us a good set of options.

However, on the admittedly limited times that I’ve watched him in full matches, I’ve never thought he was amazing. I thought he was just a good Championship player, but I’ll take the word of people who have watched him more than me if he is as good as people say!

[cyrusr]

1 minute ago, Rob182 said:

The thing I like about Watkins is that he covers all the front 3 positions. I’d like us to sign him as well as 1 more striker and 2 more wingers, giving us a good set of options.

However, on the admittedly limited times that I’ve watched him in full matches, I’ve never thought he was amazing. I thought he was just a good Championship player, but I’ll take the word of people who have watched him more than me if he is as good as people say!

I think this is the truth, ultimately he will be brought in for his work rate, eye for goal and general demeanour. I suspect his flexibility is a massive bonus point and I would suspect he would be brought instead a "2nd winger" of the 2 we need. I think we will look at 1 more winger and another striker. 

[Rob182]

Just now, cyrusr said:

I think this is the truth, ultimately he will be brought in for his work rate, eye for goal and general demeanour. I suspect his flexibility is a massive bonus point and I would suspect he would be brought instead a "2nd winger" of the 2 we need. I think we will look at 1 more winger and another striker. 

I’m probably being harsh, but when I’ve watched back some of his highlights on YouTube, I’m putting a number of his goals down to poor goalkeeping or defending. But then again, he seems to consistently get himself into good positions, and as you say, he does work hard, which I often think transfers into higher leagues fairly well.

[SeanVilla]

13 minutes ago, sharkyvilla said:

That's how I see it too, Dean must know what he wants and needs and thinks Watkins has it. His judgment on Konsa has seemed pretty spot on to me. I'd probably much rather that kind of signing than a bit of stab in the dark. 

We could say the same about Jota though  I'd certainly hope he wouldn't take as long as Konsa to settle in, else we'd be in big trouble next season.

[omariqy]

Reminds me of the Konsa deal last year. The release clause means it's a bargain and hard to lose money on it. He's got all the attributes and even if he gets a handful of goals and assists, he will still fetch a similar amount of money.

[nick76]

3 hours ago, villalad21 said:

It's his boyhood club.

As long as there is an possibility for him to fight for his place he wouldn't want to leave.

Maybe there isn’t a real possibility anymore with Giroud currently starting over him and Werner has said he wants to play more centrally.  They generally only play with one striker up alone so he might not have the possibility of fighting for his place especially if Chelsea might feel they can get some good money when they are spending like crazy.

[sharkyvilla]

17 minutes ago, SeanVilla said:

We could say the same about Jota though  I'd certainly hope he wouldn't take as long as Konsa to settle in, else we'd be in big trouble next season.

To be honest for the peanuts we payed in addition to getting rid of Gardner, Jota was probably worth it just for his assist v Everton in the end!

[Dave-R]

Better than what we do have at mo that's for sure. Unless we go abroad for big players it looks like slim picking in the english leagues and Watkins and Benrahma are our best bet.

For strikers its looking like Morelos or Edouard as well.

Personally I think weve kind of already put ourselves into a corner with signings, well the media has placed us there anyway.

Edited August 5, 2020 by Dave-R

[KenjiOgiwara]

46 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

Has anyone actually seen Edouard play?

Seems to be a lot of people recommending him but I bet most of us haven't watched 90 mins of him

The very little I've seen of him, I don’t get the hype. Just can't see him being a success in the PL. Mitrovic/Kodjia lovechild. 

Edited August 5, 2020 by KenjiOgiwara