Dean Saunders: Watkins moving to Man Utd would be a waste of his time

Former Aston Villa forward Dean Saunders has told NewBettingSites.uk that it would be a waste of time for Villa striker Ollie Watkins to move to Manchester United, although the Red Devils would benefit hugely from having someone like him in the team.

Speaking to NewBettingSites.uk, Saunders said: “Manchester United would not be a great move for Ollie Watkins. He’s better at Aston Villa for the time being. They’re in the right place and going in the right direction trying to win things.

“United are trying to revive themselves from the bottom of the deep end and are trying to scrape back to the surface. He’d waste his own time for a couple of years being involved in that team.

“Watkins would be the right kind of signing for United, though. They need players who play with the right attitude, and he does just that. We’ve seen a few of the United players this season face criticism for their attitudes and it seems to be an issue within the current squad.”

Losing Watkins would be a huge shame for Villa

Saunders believes Watkins is a manager’s dream, claiming that finding strikers that score goals and work hard are few and far between.

“Losing Ollie Watkins would be a massive shame for Aston Villa,” he said. “If you were to ask 90% of the fans at the club, they’d all say they don’t want Watkins to leave. As with any club, there’s always that group of fans who think there’s someone out there who can do the job better than him and that he misses too many chances.

“If you were to ask me from a managerial perspective and wanted to know the hardest thing to get as a manager, it’s a striker that scores goals and works hard. I don’t care how big he is, I don’t care what shape or size he is, if he works hard and scores goals then keep him!

“Strikers like that are so hard to find. Watkins is the type of player to run the opposing keeper down without the ball which we saw in the Euros. Harry Kane was struggling and Watkins finally got his start, ran in behind and scored a goal for England from a through ball.”

Grealish needs to find his freedom again in a new team

Saunders touched on former Villa player Jack Grealish, claiming that he’s lost his way in Pep Guardiola’s system at Manchester City, and that the England international would be better off somewhere that would let him play with more freedom, like he did at boyhood club Villa.

Saunders said: “When Jack Grealish first went to Manchester City, I thought that he’d have to learn a new style of one-touch and two-touch football. He had to go from being a big cog in a small wheel to a little cog in a massive wheel. The team is the most important thing for Pep Guardiola, and if your little cog isn’t turning, it stops the big wheel from turning.

“Jack had clear instructions to stay out on the left-hand side and pin the full-back to the sideline so Erling Haaland has space to run through the middle and that has left him feeling like a bit of a decoy and he’s struggled with that.

“Jack needs to move to a team where he has the freedom to wander about and get himself into pockets behind the midfield and drift onto the other side of the pitch. He’s got the skill to take on the full-backs, but he doesn’t exactly have outrageous pace where he can push it and go past you.

“He relies on a chop or a stepover to get past the man and he can do it, but he needs to play for a team that allows him to roam and be the free-spirited player that we all know he is. He’s a likeable rogue who creates and plays football that people want to watch.

“I don’t know whether he’d fit into Unai Emery’s plan at Aston Villa if he were to return there, he changes things around a lot as manager but I still think it’d be a great signing for them to get him back, although his wages cost a fortune!”